A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts
by WhiteFang72
Summary: Usopp and the rest of the Strawhat crew land on an island full of secrets. Secrets that may have something to do with a magic that doesn't even come from the Strawhat's world.
1. Chapter 1

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Summary: Usopp and the rest of the Strawhat crew land on an island full of secrets; secrets that may have something to do with a magic that doesn't even come from the Strawhat's world. Usopp's starting to learn that strength and power doesn't always come in the form of muscles or Devil's Fruit.

…

The familiarity of the sea spray hitting his face, something he normally enjoyed, did nothing to ease the humiliation he felt. Usopp covered his face with his hands and prayed to the pirate gods that he could just sink through the deck and disappear at the bottom of the Grand Line. He didn't. But as far as Nami seemed to be concerned his embarrassment was hilarious.

"You should have seen your face Usopp," she tried to cover her giggles with her hand, "the sea monster's right behind you!" She burst into laughter.

Usopp glared at her. Really, how was he supposed to know that she'd rigged a puppet to look like a monster? It had looked plenty real when it had jumped at him from over the side of the ship. He glanced at the thing and noticed how pathetic it looked. He could have made one of a far superior quality. This thought, incidentally, did not make him feel any better. He decided he'd point it out to Nami anyway.

"I can't believe you made it out of string and bed sheets. It looks sickly."

"Hey!" Sanji yelled, "I helped my precious Nami with her beautiful sea dragon. It might not compare to Nami's radiance but you…can't…insult…it!" Sanji punctuated each word with a kick aimed at Usopp's head.

Usopp dodged them, barely, and managed to escape to the upper deck when Nami distracted Sanji by speaking aloud her intention to sunbathe. Usopp heaved a sigh before he sat down by the railing of the Merry Go. He wouldn't normally have minded being the butt of one of Nami's pranks, after all, she pulled one nearly every day and Usopp wasn't her only target, it was that the joke had been based off of last night's incident. _Did they mean to do it?_ He had no way of knowing. All he knew was that he'd been left out. Left out for perhaps the first time since he'd joined the Strawhat crew.

It had been late, and Usopp had thought that everyone was asleep. He himself had been as well until a creaking noise close to the hammocks startled him. He'd looked up and seen all the other guys entering the cabin as if they had just gone out somewhere. He'd noticed their clothes were torn and that Luffy had a bandage on his arm. They'd told him that they'd been fighting a sea dragon but that everything was okay; they'd handled it. _They'd handled it without me. No one had even bothered to wake me up._

Usopp wasn't sure what to make of it. He'd have been scared of the monster yes, but he'd gone through worse before. Hadn't he proved himself? Before he could muck through the rest of the implications of it he heard Chopper'sshout of "Land Ho," and turned to see a rather small, quaint island coming up fast to the right of their ship. He jumped up, momentarily distracted from his thoughts, and joined everyone on deck to gaze at their destination.

…

Once they docked in the harbor Usopp got a clear view of the town. Houses made of brick, wood and some kind of strange stone dotted the landscape around the harbor, and the people who lived in the houses were all curiously opening their doors and windows to see who had just come into the bay. Everyone on board, except Luffy, tensed. There was no telling how the locals would react to a pirate ship calmly sitting at their dock. Then the tension seemed to dissipate from the air as the people began laughing and talking again. Some even went so far as to set out their wares and call plaintively out to the Strawhat's to buy their exotic merchandise. Usopp smiled, _a town that welcomes pirates, that's a nice change. _

Nami, patting down her orange hair as it threatened to become windswept, laid down the ground rules. "Okay, Luffy, no wandering off. Don't think I didn't notice last time. Zoro, no drinking. Absolutely none. Sanji, get us some more spices, were almost out. Usopp, you can sell some of the treasure we found." He made as if to protest and she glared at him, "You know we need more money…. All right, lets go. We can meet back here at noon."

"Might as well join the circus," Usopp muttered, "for all the consideration I get here…"

As they left the ship Usopp noticed Luffy standing back on the deck with a strange look on his face, though it vanished as soon as he saw a candy stand. According to Nami's orders Zoro reluctantly followed him. Usopp began walking in a different direction. He hadn't the faintest clue where to sell their treasure in the small town, so he randomly chose to move west and hoped there was a bank somewhere in the area.

Halfway down a side street someone in a hooded cloak blocked his path. Usopp stepped back, reached for his slingshot and prepared to scream as loud as he could, but he didn't get the chance. The man whipped out what looked like a long stick from a pocket in his robes and pointed it at him. Usopp heard him utter something that sounded like "Stupefy**"** before his vision faded and he fell.

…

Usopp awoke to the sound of birds chirping. He blinked; there hadn't been any birds when he'd blacked out. He got quietly to his feet, feeling a shade dizzy, and glanced around. The sight made him fall straight back on his butt. In front of him were hundreds of enormous trees. _A forest._ _Why am I in a forest?_ The trees seemed to be stooped, leaves browning and trunks graying with age. A thick haze settled around the roots of them, giving the area an eerie feel. Usopp shuffled backward. He hoped that when he turned around he'd see civilization, some sign of people. The quiet notching of an arrow told otherwise. Usopp froze.

Then in front of him walked the strangest animal Usopp had seen in a while. It was a horse with the torso of a person situated where the horse's head and neck should be. It also had white-blond hair and startlingly blue eyes, and was aiming an arrow at his chest. Another one, this one darker in coloring, came in from the side and spoke.

"What are you, human, doing trespassing in our forest? This forest is forbidden for a reason."

Usopp shivered, the animal's voice was as kind as frost. Though he supposed he couldn't really call it an animal anymore. He figured asking "what are you" would probably be taken the wrong way so he settled for something he hoped was a little less rude. "Where am I? Am I still in the Grand Line?"

The creatures' looked at each other. The darker one murmured, "The visitor the star's predicted perhaps?"

The lighter one inclined its head in what Usopp supposed was acknowledgement and then stepped forward, gracefully trailing a hoof through the fog. "Where do you come from?"

Usopp readied his answer but before he could so much as speak a word a guttural growl emanated from the bushes behind the horse creatures. A large, shaggy head with a maw full of sharp, dripping teeth emerged. This new creature resembled a wolf, but seemed much bigger than Usopp was used to and he shuddered as he watched the enormous shadow of the beast, contrasted so harshly with the fog under its feet, move towards him. It watched him with dark eyes and Usopp knew he had to do something quickly before he died in this strange forest.

In an instant he had his slingshot out and aimed at the snout of the monster. He loaded it with a rock he had in his pouch, and fired without a second's hesitation. The monster yelped, growled softly, and, shooting a startled glance at Usopp, vanished the way it had come. The lighter horse creature, the only one that remained when the monster appeared, shot an admiring look at Usopp.

"Not many humans show so little fear in the face of a werewolf. Tell me, what is it you are doing here?"

Usopp shrugged, "Trying to find my way back to the Grand Line. Can you help me?"

The horse creature solemnly shook his head; "I cannot help you in that respect. I have never heard of the Grand Line. But I believe I know some people who could assist you. I'll lead you there."

…

Author's Note: This is my first story in either the Harry Potter or the One Piece fandom so please bear with me. I have an outline for this story so hopefully I'll make better progress than I did on my last one. Anyway, feel free to review if you like. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Thank you so much for the reviews! I didn't think I'd get any. Well, I'll try to keep it interesting. And don't worry; I won't leave the rest of the Strawhat's completely out of it.

…

Usopp followed the strange horse-creature for a few minutes before, through a part in the trees, he saw an enormous stone wall. At least, he thought it was a wall until he reached the edge of the forest; then, he found his mouth falling open a little. A couple hundred feet in front of him stood a massive gray castle, turrets towering above the ground. Despite the imposing look of the place, the horse-creature beside him didn't seem worried.

It gestured, with a callused hand, towards the castle, "Hogwarts is where you will most likely find your answer. Good luck to you far-traveler."

Usopp smiled, "Thanks. By the way what's…" He turned to find the space beside him deserted. _Your name_, he finished silently. Ah well. Usopp walked into the clearing in front of him and took in his surroundings. In front, of course, was the castle, but to the sides there seemed to be almost endless grassy space, unbroken by only a few things. One was a rather large hut, situated close to the forest, another a lake, though this seemed small in comparison to East Blue and the Grand Line back home, and the last was an enormous tree, unremarkable except for its waving branches, which seemed to be moving far more than the slight wind permitted. Usopp was just deciding on whether or not to risk entering the castle when he heard a gasp.

Three people seemed to have just emerged from the hut beside the forest. They all seemed to be wearing robes like the person in the alleyway, and one with red hair was pointing at him. Usopp told himself to stand still. The people in robes were just kids', and as such should be able to be handled easily, as long as they weren't the Luffy brand of kids. As they moved closer he could make out more detail. There were two boys and one girl. The girl had a full head of bushy, brown hair, and a rather knowing face, while one of the boy's was redheaded, with hair as bright red as Nami's was orange. The boy also had a stream of freckles crossing his face. The other boy was shorter than the redhead, with messy, black hair. Part of that hair seemed to be covering a small scar, though nothing as impressive as Zoro's scars.

The girl spoke first. "Hello, there. You don't attend this school do you? I don't recognize you," she paused, "My name's Hermione, and this is Ron and Harry."

"I'm Usopp." He saw them all glance at each other, "I'm…not from around here. Is this really a school?"

At his question the girl named Hermione seemed startled and the boy with black hair, Harry, Usopp remembered, cast a suspicious look at him. He tensed.

"You don't know what this place is?" Hermione adopted a guarded expression. The red haired boy, Ron, folded his arms across his chest.

Usopp wondered what he'd said wrong. Then he realized the girl was insinuating that he shouldn't be here. That for some reason the school was not open to outsiders. _A Marine academy? They certainly don't dress like marines._ The place looked too big for a sword dojo or any other place teachers would want to keep their teachings private. Then, Usopp's addled brain came up with the one thing that made sense. Nuns. The school must be a religious establishment. The robes, anyway, seemed to confirm his guess.

He gave a formal bow, "I'm very sorry to interrupt your teachings, but I'm afraid," here he puffed himself up, "that I've got to talk to whoever's in charge. It's extremely important."

Hermione looked as if she was about to speak, but before she could the door of the hut slammed open and a person walked outside. The person wouldn't have caught Usopp's attention if not for the fact that he was _huge_. Usopp had seen giants before and wondered briefly if this new person might be somehow related to the race. The closer the person got, the more Usopp lost the battle with his quaking knees.

The small giant spoke, "Whatcha' got there Harry, Hermione? Yeh left," he fell silent as he noticed Usopp, "Well who are you?"

Hermione answered. "His name is Usopp," she struggled over the pronunciation, "He doesn't go here but says he needs to see the Headmaster. Should we take him Hagrid?" This question she directed at the large man.

The man, Hagrid's, beetle-like eyes narrowed, "Ron, 'ould you go up an' get McGonagall? Dumbledore if yeh can?"

The boy named Ron nodded and tore off across the grounds to the castle. A few minutes of silence reigned while Usopp tried to remember any place he'd ever heard of that looked remotely like the surrounding landscape. He was carefully not staring at the large man named Hagrid. The giants he met, back on Little Garden, were honorable but that didn't mean all large people were. This Hagrid looked like he could snap Usopp like a very frail, but brave and courageous, twig.

Then he noticed the others gazing back towards the castle and saw someone hurrying back with Ron. The someone, as Usopp could tell when the man came closer, was a very old man with a beard that fell to his feet and an age-lined face with odd glasses sitting on his crooked nose. Usopp had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. The man had robes similar to the three students, except that the old man's robes had stars and moons sewn onto it in intricate patterns.

"This is our visitor?" The old man spoke, taking in Usopp's appearance with apparent curiosity. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. You have business here?"

Usopp nodded. "I, well…I'm a long way from home. I need to find my way back and the horse-creatures in the forest said that the people here might be able to help me." He stopped for a second. "I'm very important and they need me back home," though doubt flickered briefly on his features, "If you can help I'll…I'll, repay you with riches beyond what you've ever imagined." There. That ought to get them thinking. Though Usopp doubted that a few gold coins, the only thing besides his weapons he had on him, could be interpreted as _riches_.

From what Usopp could read on the old man's face the man, Dumbledore, didn't seem impressed. He seemed amused. _Damn._

"Well," he chuckled, "I don't think you will need to go quite so far, especially as we don't, as yet, know where you come from. However, I am willing to help as long as you agree to certain err…terms. I wish it were otherwise, but I'm afraid our school is under obligation to question intruders, and travelers. Would you object very much to taking a truth potion? It is only a precaution I assure you. You are welcome to say no, of course, but upon saying it you will not be allowed back inside this school's grounds."

Usopp blinked. Then blinked again. _Truth potion? What do these people think they are? Witches?_ Mentally, he shook his head. He hadn't yet seen anything that could make people tell the truth if they didn't want to. He shuddered. Never being able to tell a lie again… _No,_ he decided. _This potion's not real; and this place holds the only hope of my finding my nakama again. If they even want me to find them that is._ Taking a deep breath, he turned toward Dumbledore. "Okay, I'll take it."

The old man smiled and took a small vial out of his robes. "We will have to do this out here I'm afraid."

Usopp took the vial, rather hesitantly, and sipped it. Immediately he felt a change. He felt calm, relaxed and a little drowsy. The old man asked him if he could hear him, and then, when Usopp answered yes, asked how he came to be at their school. Usopp began to answer without thinking, his voice monotonous. "My friends and I landed on an island in the Grand Line. We thought the people there were nice. They welcomed us. We all separated to buy supplies for the ship, but when I left the others I found myself cornered by a man in robes. He pointed a stick at me, said something weird. The next thing I knew was that I was in a forest. A horse-creature showed me the way to this school after I scared away something called a 'werewolf.'"

Another question was asked. "Where do you come from?"

Usopp frowned vaguely; "Syrup Village in East Blue, but I have traveled the Grand Line for a while now."

"Do you know what England is?"

"No."

"Can people where you come from use magic? Do you use it?"

"Some people say they can use real magic, but I think it's mostly trickery. No, I am no magician or," a look of slight disbelief crossed Usopp's face, "witch."

"Alright. For now I think that's enough…"

What could have been a few seconds later, though Usopp wasn't sure, the calmness left him and Usopp felt alert, and definitely unnerved. His eyes widened as he realized just what it was he had said. He'd sung like the proverbial bird. Somehow, during the questioning, he'd ended up on his knees and now he shuffled back from the robed people in fear. He noticed that Dumbledore and Hermione tried to be comforting, shooting him gentle looks and smiles of encouragement, while Harry and Ron just seemed puzzled. The man named Hagrid was staring at Usopp as if he was some interesting specimen at the zoo.

"So," the boy named Harry started, "Do we help him?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He is no muggle, for all his lack of knowledge of wizards, but perhaps where he comes from magic is not taught like it is here. Yes, I think he can stay for a while while I and the other teachers look up this 'Grand Line.'"

Usopp wasn't at all sure that he wanted to go anywhere with these people now, but the girl, Hermione, was tugging at his arm in an excited manner and leading him up to the castle. He barely heard Dumbledore telling Harry that Usopp could stay near Gryffindor tower, whatever that was, and that he was to be considered a guest for the time being.

…

Usopp only really started taking in his surroundings when he arrived at the tower and was told that he could spend some time with Hermione, Ron and Harry to help him settle him. The tower, he found, was magnificent. Rich, brocaded drapes hung from the windows and every piece of furniture seemed to feature brilliant colors of red and gold. The couches were soft, far more comfortable than Usopp's hammock on the Going Merry, and several more students were glancing curiously at him from a table several feet away. They all wore robes. For the first time ever Usopp was starting to feel self-conscious in his overalls.

"What is this place?" He couldn't keep the awe out of his voice.

Hermione, after looking from Ron to Harry, took the lead. "This is Hogwarts. It's a school for, well, witches and wizards. I know it is a bit hard to believe, it was for me at first as well, but we practice magic here."

Usopp stared at her. This place was revealing itself to be stranger than the Grand Line.

…

Author's Note: Whew! Finally finished the second chapter. I was going to add more action to this part but by the time I finished writing I realized I'd written a lot. Well, for me anyway. Anyhow, feel free to review, and even critique, if you like and thank you so much for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

I am so sorry for not updating sooner. There's a lot going on in my life now, but I am trying to make this a priority. Thank you guys so much for the reviews! They make me happy!

…

"Magic?" Usopp asked the first question that dominated his mind.

Hermione nodded, "Yes and the school you are in is called Hogwarts. That stick that that person pointed at you must have been a wand, that's what wizards and witches use to channel their magic." At Usopp's doubtful look she added, "I can show you some magic if you'd like."

With that, Hermione drew a 'wand' from a pocket in her robes and stated "Accio." Usopp watched in amazement as a pillow from the couch across the room zoomed toward the girl and landed neatly in her hands. Usopp's mouth stayed open for a few seconds as he tried desperately to think of something to say that wasn't stupid.

He settled for, "Well, it's only as I imagined. This place is very different from my own land. I'm sure I could get the hang of this 'magic' pretty fast."

Ron seemed to seethe at his words and Harry didn't really look happy, but Hermione just smiled. "Yes, well, I'm sure you could Usopp. But, our headmaster didn't really think it prudent to let a student from another world start learning magic right away. You understand don't you? Dumbledore did say that you could stay near Gryffindor Tower, however. We'll help you get settled in."

Usopp nodded. He was almost relieved he wouldn't have to learn something that sounded so powerful, but also disappointed. He was sure that, back on the Going Merry, he wouldn't have been left out if he had known magic. _Luffy would think I'm great. He might even let me take out a sea dragon. I could incinerate it before Sanji or Zoro even saw it. _He gazed down at the floor, thinking. _They won't let me learn magic, but, don't I need a stick, 'wand', _he corrected himself, _to perform it? If I just go to these classes of theirs I could watch what they do and maybe I could make my own wand without their knowing it. _He glanced up at Hermione and asked, a bit pleadingly, "But what am I supposed to do while you are at classes? Can't I just attend them and watch? I won't get in the way. I'm very good at staying out of the way."

Hermione didn't seem surprised. "Dumbledore already thought of that. He said that you could watch, but that you can't have a wand. We also have some classes where wands aren't required. You can participate in those if you like."

Usopp's heart sped up. He smiled, "Thank you."

Hermione seemed about to reply when Ron butted in, "Hey, it's almost time for dinner! Lets go to the Great Hall. Come on Hermione." He sped past Usopp, almost bumping into him in the process, and disappeared through a large door.

When Usopp and the rest came out the door, he was surprised to see that it was actually a huge portrait of a rather rotund woman. What really shocked him though was the fact that the woman was casually chatting to the person in the portrait next to her. Usopp shook his head and walked on. Occasionally, he walked past something, like a suit of armor that stood to attention, or a staircase that started moving when he set foot on it, that made him look around in awe. _This place is so strange._ Then they reached the Great Hall.

Once Usopp stepped through the door, he forsook all other eating establishments as horribly overrated. He'd never seen anyplace so magnificent. The ceiling was a dark blue with tiny lights, stars, stretching across its length, reflecting the sky outside, and there were four enormous tables lined, side-by-side, along the polished wood floor. Each table held hundreds of cups and plates, all empty. Hermione led Usopp and the others to a table off to the side, and they all sat down. Usopp was just about to ask where the waiters were, when, so fast he had to take a double glance to make sure he wasn't seeing things, their plates filled with all kinds of food.

He couldn't hide his shock. "What? Where did…" He stuttered in surprise.

Harry laughed and remarked, "Isn't it brilliant? Don't worry, the food's real. You'll never go hungry here."

Ron nodded, all animosity seemingly forgotten, "This food's the best I've ever tasted. They make every…"

Someone interrupted him, "Don't let mom hear you say…"

"That. She'll go mental." Two redheads sat down on either side of Ron, both smirking in an identical way. But Usopp noticed that more than their smile's were identical. The two boys were exact copies of each other.

Ron sighed, "This is Fred and George. They're my brothers. Fred, George, this is Usopp. He's, err, not from around here."

The boy apparently named Fred nodded, "Yes, I'm George. If you ever need anything, well, anything you think the school might confiscate, than Fred and I are your guys."

The boy who Usopp had been sure was pointed out as George spoke. "Yeah, we've got all kinds of candy you can give to someone you want to hex. You want…"

Fred, or maybe George finished, "a sample?"

Usopp was about to reach out his hand for the item, but Hermione seemed to have had enough. "Absolutely not! This goes against at least two school rules."

While Hermione was glaring at the boys, Harry and Ron seemed to think the whole thing rather funny. So he mouthed, "Maybe later," and got two large, wicked grins in return.

After eating, which Usopp found to be an interesting experience as most of the food was completely foreign to him; they began walking back to the Gryffindor common room. They had only made it about halfway there, and were in a deserted hallway with very little decoration in it whatsoever, when they were brought to a halt. A cultured, but snide, voice spoke from behind them, "Well, well, well. What have we got here? The famous, parentless Potter, A weasel with no money, a know-it-all Mudblood and oh, we've got a new one Goyle." A rather scrawny boy with light blond hair stepped out from behind a suit of armor, flanked by two huge thugs. Usopp knew he could take the small one, but the thugs might actually give him a run for his money. They were far too large for their age. The boy continued, "What should we call this one Crabbe? Heh, look what he's wearing. _Overalls, _Honestly. You'd think he wanted to be beat up wouldn't you? And look at that _nose!_ Well, Potter I can certainly see why you picked up another stray. That honker's going to get as much conversation as your ugly scar." The boy sneered.

Harry pulled out his wand, "Stuff it, Malfoy! You want to get another detention?"

Ron flourished his wand as well, "It's four against three Malfoy. Who do you think's going to win?"

The boy, Malfoy, spoke, looking as if he had something very nasty under his nose, "Well, they seem to think highly of _your_ dueling skills, you big _schnoz. _Where's your wand anyway? Or are you going to fight me with," here he seemed to dissolve into laughter, "with that big beak?"

At that remark, which incensed Usopp to no end, Harry and Ron seemed to have had enough and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" "Furnunculus!"

Harry's spell, which shot out of his wand in a burst of red light, hit Goyle's wand-hand and the wand blasted out to the other side of the room. Ron's though, hit Malfoy straight on and, before Usopp's astonished eyes, thousands of boils sprung up all over the boy's face.

Malfoy didn't wait long to reply in kind, though he aimed his spell at Hermione, who seemed to be trying to stop the fight before it escalated any further. His spell missed when she dashed to the side, but a furious Ron tried to return the favor with a spell of bright, orange light. Usopp decided he'd seen enough. He tried not to draw attention to himself as he drew his trusty slingshot. It was actually rather easy, as spells were flying right and left and nearly hitting everyone. Once he had his weapon out, he quickly loaded a pellet and took aim. _All right, wait for the right moment. Not now, not now… Now!_ He shot, watched as the pellet flew through the air faster than the spells around it, and saw it hit. _Yes!_ _Perfect._ The pellet hit Malfoy right between the eyes and he dropped, eyes rolling into the back of his head. Complete silence ensued.

"Who hit him?" Ron whispered.

Harry shrugged and Usopp swiftly hid his slingshot in his overalls. _It might be better if they don't know I carry weapons around. _He looked around at Hermione only to find the girl staring at him, an odd expression twisting her face. _Did she…_ But Usopp never finished the thought.

"What is going on here!?" An older woman, with her hair pulled tightly into a bun at the back of her head, came around the corner, scowling. Harry rubbed the back of his head, smiling with a very innocent, very fake, countenance. "Uh, hello Professor McGonagall…How are you?"

The professor raised an eyebrow. _This isn't looking at all good._ Usopp decided it was time to run a little rescue mission. "Oh, professor!" He set on his best desperate face, "Thank the sea you're here. Hermione and Harry and Ron and I were all coming back from dinner and we found this boy collapsed on the floor. Isn't that right?" He set his gaze on Goyle. _If I know anything of people like that, they won't want to be caught with a sword…wand, out either. Hopefully they'll act like some of the marines we've encountered._ He was right. Goyle quickly nodded, with Crabbe following suit. The woman, McGonagall, didn't seem in the least convinced, but she just shook her head.

"You are that new _transfer student_ Dumbledore was talking about I take it?" She gazed hard at Harry, Hermione and Ron. "I trust you're setting a good example?"

Hermione's face glowed red. The woman settled on shaking her head again. "Can you four help me take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing? _Whatever_ happened to him was sure to have been painful." The sarcasm couldn't have been more apparent.

"Yes, professor."

…

Author's Note: Wow. I know this took a while to get out, but hopefully it isn't all that bad. Next chapter Usopp'll actually get to go to a class. :) Well, feel free to review or critique if you like. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

I know I've said it before, but I am truly sorry for not updating earlier. School has started and already I'm swamped with homework, reports and tests. Not to mention taking care of a new puppy. Anyway, hope this doesn't come out too late for everyone. Also, thanks again for all the great reviews! They really make me smile. :) Well, on to the story.

…

Harry sighed heavily as he walked down to the Great Hall. He had stayed up late the night before trying to finish the homework that wasn't done when Professor McGonagall had he, Ron, Hermione and Usopp bring Malfoy to the hospital wing. The trip had taken longer than it should have, longer than _any _trip to the hospital wing should have, when someone's Filibuster Fireworks went off in the hall they were walking down. It was complete chaos as the culprit, a second year Hufflepuff no less, tried to escape the scene of the crime. It had taken over an hour to track the kid down, and now Harry was exhausted. Ron and Hermione had gone to bed early, Ron saying he could miss a few assignments and Hermione that she'd already done it. Usopp, of course, didn't have homework and so Harry was left to fend for himself and hopefully pick up his less than desirable grade. He was walking past the staff room when he heard it.

"What I want to know is, is it at all likely that he's here for the tournament?" Harry could hear Professor McGonagall's voice through the crack in the door.

"It is a possibility Minerva, but the place he says he comes from makes that suggestion somewhat unlikely." Dumbledore. _I bet they're talking about Ussop._

"The Grand Line, I think you said? How ridiculous. I suppose you're thinking it's another dimension or some sort of thing."

"I am not thinking it," Dumbledore laughed, "I know it. I asked Professor Binns to come down to explain it all. I hope you don't mind. Now Severus, don't look at me that way. I have not yet lost my mind. You may start, Professor Binns."

"Well," Binns' droning voice, often so completely dull it put students to sleep, sounded rather hesitant, "there is no real evidence of a world that contains an area called the Grand Line. I would normally say that it's only a story, but," here the ghost seemed to pause, "the only book with any such historical record of it is in my personal collection. A work of my father's you see… All other books, written by my father's fellows, were burned. No one in his right mind, though no one has confirmed the boy _is_ in his right mind, would try to pass such an excuse."

Snape's sneer was easy to imagine. "I'm sure your father was a great… _historian_, Binns, but I was of the impression, stupid me, that historians told history. Or is the old fashion never to say a word about anything?"

Dumbledore cut in, "Ah, yes, you would think so, but this turns out to be a somewhat special case. There is not time to delve into the whole history of it, however, suffice it to say that, because of personal interest in the Grand Line the ones who discovered it, after publishing their findings in a select few books, and realizing that ridicule was the only thing that would ever come of it, burned most of the copies. They did leave behind a diary though, and my father kept one copy that is now in the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library. That book has never once been checked out… I will allow you to continue the rest, Binns?"

The old ghost's voice was as monotonous as ever. "Yes, well… on page one hundred and three the diary asserts that the 'Grand Line is a long, winding stretch of sea filled with fantastic creatures such as Sea Serpents and enormous scaled lizards. Also prevalent are people, though there seems to be no magical energy among them. The types of people are as varied as they are back in my world, but there are two select professions that these people engage in that seem the most common. The first is the law-abiding vocation of Marine. The job consists of keeping order over the vast seas of the world and the occupation seems to work very much like the British Royal Navy does. The other, however, is less tasteful. Ships full of pirates sail the waters, plundering, pillaging and causing havoc wherever they go. They also…"

Harry heard footsteps echoing down the hallway behind him. He then realized that breakfast was almost over and that the teachers would soon be coming out of the staff room. He didn't want to be caught any where near the door. _Still, I learned enough. Pirates and Marines, huh? And no magic. No wonder Usopp thought that they were insane. Though, to be honest, the thought of men with beards yelling "Arr," and telling people to walk the plank in this age seems ridiculous as well. _

…

Usopp's first class was to be with a Professor Moody, whom Harry and Ron called Mad-Eye. Hermione had brought Usopp some school robes that the Headmaster had given her so that he wouldn't attract unnecessary attention. He, personally, thought he looked rather stupid. It looked almost as if he was wearing a dress and Usopp knew that if Sanji or Zoro ever saw him in this garb they'd never let him forget about it. He had a brief, insane image of Sanji following him around with hearts in his eyes and asking what food was his favorite, and, blanching, he banished the picture from his mind, hopefully forever. _Creepy…_ He tried to bring his mind around to another subject, and began thinking about what the Headmaster had said that morning at breakfast. Professor Dumbledore, as Usopp recalled, had said that Usopp was an exchange student from some country called Japan, but that he knew English, something Usopp hadn't even realized he was speaking and which was a language he had learned from his mother early on, a little while after his father had left. After his mother died he'd almost forgotten the language until he met Kaya, who at the time spoke English exclusively. Now he was so used to it he could switch languages at the drop of a hat, and as a result, didn't realize he was speaking it until that morning.

What was really odd though, and here Usopp's ponderings made his brain hurt, was that back in his world there was a place called England as well. It was only a small group of islands, trade routes, were he came from, but still the similarities between worlds were amazing.

As soon as Usopp and the others reached the classroom they all found seats near the front, as, for some reason, Harry and Ron both seemed to be particularly excited about Moody's class. After about a minute, Usopp noticed a distinct cluncking sound coming from the hallway. He took a deep breath. _I hope this Mad-Eye person isn't too scary. _Then, the man himself came in. Usopp tried hard not to gasp aloud; the man was terrifying. He had grizzled hair and what sounded like a wooden foot, but he also had, and here Usopp couldn't help shuddering, one very strange eyeball. One that seemed to swivel about in the man's head and landed on each person he called on in roll, even though his normal eye never moved from the roll-call sheet.

Usopp was so distracted by the sight of the man that he barely noticed when class started. He tuned in, however, when the words "illegal curses" were mentioned.

"…Do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Ron raised his hand and answered with something that seemed to be called the "Imperius Curse." With fascination in his eyes, Usopp watched as the teacher took out a large spider from a jar in his desk and proceeded to place it upon his hand. Then the man shouted "Imperio!" Usopp's desk screeched in protest as he pushed it back as far as he could. The spider was performing backflips and cartwheeling as if it belonged to a circus. The whole class seemed to find the dancing spider funny, everyone was in a fit of giggles and laughter. Usopp had a feeling he would have been laughing too, if not for the utter bizarreness of it all. Also, something about the whole act was beginning to remind Usopp of Miss Goldenweek. _Only this man can do more than control emotions. Luffy wouldn't stand a chance against this curse. For that matter, neither would I. _

The rest of the class eventually came to the same conclusion as Usopp when the teacheras much as told them that it could happen to any one of them. The rest of the class, besides Hermione, looked to be hesitant to answer the question of what the next illegal dark curse was, so it came as a surprise when a boy with so shy a countenance, Neville it seemed, raised his hand.

"There's one—the Cruciatus Curse." The boy's voice had gone quiet when he answered.

Usopp gulped. _There's a worse spell than a curse that controls people?_ _Even the name of it sounds horrible. _He was right. Professor Moody then took out another spider. Only this one he enlarged, so that all could see the effects of the curse. Then he activated it.

If Usopp hadn't seen pain before, hadn't seen people being sliced to bits and his own nakama, or former nakama, being so hurt they could barely move, he knew he might have run right then and there. The spider was in obvious pain. It was twitching and jerking and was starting to shudder…

"Stop it!" Hermione had had enough. She was gazing with a shocked and sickened expression back at the Neville boy, who looked as though he could faint or puke at any given moment. Usopp didn't blame him, he himself felt almost the same way. _This world seems to have a tough love policy when it comes to teaching. Though, personally, I didn't think that old Headmaster would allow this sort of thing. Are all the other teachers like this as well?_

The last, and final, curse was the worst one of the three. Hermione suggested it, though even she didn't look happy about saying it. The name, "Avada Kedavra," made everyone in the class uneasy. Usopp bit back the freezing terror rising in him and watched as the professor took out the last spider. A sudden flash of bright green light and it was over. The spider lay on its back, completely dead.

The rest of the lesson was a blur. Usopp had seen Devil Fruits and their terrifying power, had seen massive sea-giants and even real giants, but he hadn't ever seen something that could kill so fast and so easily. By the time he was done reflecting it was the end of class and Hermione was tugging on the sleeve of his robes to get him moving. Ron was gushing excitement. He was talking a mile an hour about the lesson and how "cool" it was. Hermione and Harry were quiter, in fact, Harry actually looked ashen. Usopp wondered if perhaps Harry had never seen death before, but there seemed to be more to it than that. Hermione was glancing worriedly between Harry and the Neville boy, looking as if she wanted to comfort them both, but not entirely sure how. She decided to speak to Neville first.

"Neville?"

"Oh hello," the boy's voice seemed to have gone up a few octaves, landing in a high, squeaky rangeUsopp was sure it wasn't really supposed to reach, "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm—I'm starving aren't you?"

Before anyone could ask if the boy was alright, though he obviously wasn't, they heard the clunking footsteps of their professor approaching. The teacher, in an odd act of kindness (in Usopp's mind anyway), asked for the Neville boy to come with him. Harry and the others looked as if they thought that it was a bad idea, Usopp heartily agreed, but they couldn't do anything and so had to walk back to the common room on their own, leaving the poor Neville boy to an uncertain fate.

Before the group reached the common room, Usopp knew he had to ask something, but he felt he would need to ask Hermione alone. "Uh, Hermione? Can I talk to you for a minute, over there?"

Hermione looked surprised for a moment, but nodded. "Sure."

Usopp knew this wasn't going to be an easy question. "Err…Hermione, I know this may be wrong to ask, but why did Harry and Neville react so badly to those curses? They were awful, but most everyone else thought the class was exciting…" He trailed off.

Hermione just shook her head, "I can't tell you about Neville, that secret is his to divulge. But, as for Harry...Most everyone knows about it anyway. His parents died by the Avada Kedavra curse. They were quite famous, and, as you heard the professor say, Harry's the only one that's ever survived the killing curse."

Usopp's eyes widened. _This world may be even more dangrous than mine is._

…

Author's Note: I know, I know; a lot of people wanted Usopp to attend Snape's class… But, I'll get to that later. This chapter is sort of important so I couldn't fit Snape in just yet. Anywho, feel free to review or critique. Thank you for being patient and for reading. :)


	5. Chapter 5

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Sorry about not updating in a while. This is a priority and so I will finish it, but it might take a while. Anyway, again, I hope this doesn't come out too late for everyone. Also, thanks again for the reviews! They're fun to read. Well, on to the story.

…

After the fiasco of "Mad-Eye" Moody's class, Usopp made the decision to not be in attendance at any of the other teachers' classes. So, the rest of the day went by with him wandering random hallways and corridors, and jumping at the sight of every ghost he laid eyes on. Dinner came and went and afterward, there being nothing better to do, Usopp decided to follow Harry, Ron and Hermione back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry was still a bit pale and distracted, but not nearly as bad as at the beginning of the day. Usopp followed them all to a large table in the corner of the room and watched as they all took out pieces of rolled of paper, which Hermione, at his inquiring look, called parchment.

Ron heaved a huge, dramatic sigh. "Looks like we need to get started on ol' Trelawney's predictions. Anybody know what happens when Venus and Saturn come into alignment?"

Harry sniggered, "You mean besides that old bat giving out stupid assignments?"

An annoyed look crossed Hermione's face; "Our dear Professor wouldn't know how to divine her way out of a paper bag. The whole subject is rubbish. I don't see why they even have it on the curriculum."

Ron's eyes seemed to light up, "Hermione you're not writing anything. You're already done aren't you? Would you mind help-"

Hermione cut him off, "Absolutely not. You'll never learn if-"

Ron then did something both incredibly dangerous and stupid, in Usopp's opinion, and interrupted _Hermione_. "Fine, then we'll just make it up."

Hermione's face practically steamed. She sputtered for a few seconds before she calmed and stated, "Fine, that shouldn't take long, and after that you can help me with S.P.E.W." She left a small badge on the table and left to sit in another corner of the room.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Usopp asked, "What's an S.P.E.W.?"

His face a slight shade of scarlet, Ron answered, "It stands for Society for the… the…err-"

Harry finished, "The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. She's really serious about it. My advice is to do whatever she asks."

Usopp nodded. _No kidding._ "Do you want any help making up predictions? I don't mean to brag, but I'm really good at that sort of thing."

Grin widening, Ron stated, "Sure."

For the next hour and a half Usopp, Ron and Harry invented predictions for Divination Class, which Usopp soon found was rather like creating a cover story, something he often had to do back home. At first the predictions started out believable, encompassing the realm of slight illnesses and things like spilling ink or eating a large piece of cake, but, after a half hour, the prophecies started to go a little off the beaten path.

"Hey, what if you say that you'll face a near-death experience in the future involving a magical restaurant and flying pots and pans?"

"Oh, I got one! What about this? I will face an immense trial of wills and in the process almost die, only to be saved by a beautiful woman, because of the alignment of Neptune."

"What if one of us is injured by a rampaging hippogriff?"

"What's a hippog-?"

"Nah, I've got something too similar already."

"Oh."

"Hmm, what if the both of you are involved in a magical conspiracy and the king himself, or whatever you have here, asks you to keep quiet?"

Both Harry and Ron grinned at Usopp's suggestion. Ron spoke, "Where do you get your ideas Usopp? You haven't run out yet."

"That's a secret The Great Ca… The Great Usopp will never divulge!" Usopp almost groaned aloud. _That was close. I can't have them knowing I'm part of a pirate crew._ Thankfully no one seemed to have caught his slip.

Later that night, after Harry and Ron's homework was finished and Hermione had forced Usopp to sign his soul away to the S.P.E.W. campaign, Usopp began to leave for his own dormitory. As he was just stepping through the portrait hole, though, he noticed Harry's owl, he thought it was named Hedwig, perched on the windowsill holding a letter. He noticed that all three students looked incredibly excited. Then, Hermione hesitated and glanced back in his direction, as if she wasn't sure she wanted him to see what was in the letter. She recovered quickly though, and waved at him while the others said goodnight. Usopp realized he was being politely dismissed, and left. _After all, it's not as if they know me all that well. They're probably just being cautious… So why does it feel like I'm still back on the ship, with everyone else privileged to take on a sea dragon while I'm left out?_

The dormitory Usopp had been given was nice. The walls were painted a soothing sea blue while the floors were wood. Scattered around the space were several dark dressers and tables and, in the middle of the room, backed up against the wall, was an enormous bed. Customized as he was to sleeping in a hammock, Usopp felt that the bed was the absolute best thing about the room. It was so comfortable that he'd almost slept in the first morning he'd woken up in the castle. Usopp fell asleep quickly, but unlike the night before his dreams were far from peaceful.

Rubbing his head in confusion, Usopp looked around to find himself in a strange place. He seemed to be outside on the castle grounds, facing a large lake and standing in a forest of faceless students. Everyone's head was turned in the direction of the sky above. As Usopp gazed at the spot he was startled to see a carriage, a carriage pulled by enormous flying horses, descending towards the grounds. Usopp gasped, but as he stepped back in fear he felt his shoe land, not on soft earth, but on hard, unforgiving stone. He was no longer outside of the castle. Faceless students once again surrounded him, but this time he was sitting on some kind of stand in the Great Hall. In front of his eyes some kind of cup or goblet was seated. Everyone's attention now seemed to be focused on it. The goblet spewed names out of it and Usopp noticed that everyone seemed to be intently focused on which names were called. The cup looked about to shoot forth a fourth name, so far there had only been three, when a face took shape on the item. Grotesque was the only word Usopp knew that fit the face that had taken shape upon the goblet. The eyes of the face were red and slit, like a cat's or a snake's, and the whole countenance was filmy and pale. Usopp shivered and stood rooted to the spot in a kind of terror he hadn't felt in a long time. The face was unforgiving and utterly devoid of humanity, and all Usopp knew was that he didn't want that face to spot him.

He woke up to the sound of knocking, and heard Hermione's voice on the other side of the door. _What a weird nightmare…_

…

One full week had passed since Usopp had arrived at the castle and he still wasn't used to the place. He hadn't stopped jumping every time a ghost flew through a wall or gasping when doors opened where they shouldn't. Apparently he was in for a new surprise too, as Hermione had excitedly called him down to the Gryffindor Common Room to tell him something. He arrived to see Hermione, Harry and Ron pulling on scarves. They gestured for him to follow and Harry began by explaining, "In the beginning of the school year Dumbledore announced that, this year, Hogwarts is hosting a tournament. It's called the Triwizard Tournament and-"

Ron interrupted, "It's going to be the most bloody brilliant thing we've ever seen! Apparently they've tried to host it before, but too many people died."

"Died?" Usopp stopped, or tried to, but then found himself stumbling down the last three steps in the staircase. He made a mental note to make sure he wasn't mid-step on a flight of stairs the next time he tried that.

"Yes," Hermione stated, helping him back to his feet, "Professor Dumbledore and two other schools have decided to try hosting the tournament again. Don't worry though, I'm sure they wouldn't make it as dangerous as they did the last time students' competed."

"What is it about?"

Harry shrugged, "All we know is that three schools are going to compete against each other to win the cup. The reason we're telling you this now though, is because both of the other schools are arriving today. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang I think the sign said…"

By this time the four of them were already outside. It was nearing dusk and the moon seemed thin and transparent against the sky. Usopp grinned in anticipation as Professor McGonagall lined up the students according to year.

Ron turned to Harry, "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," Hermione spoke. She crossed her arms and glanced around. Harry then suggested broomsticks. Usopp was tempted to snigger at this, but after glancing at Harry's face he decided that maybe the suggestion wasn't a joke. Just then, they heard a shout and saw one of the older students pointing over the forest. Usopp turned to look, felt an icy chill run down his back.

He saw a sea of faceless students all gazing up at the sky. _What is this? This is just like…_ But then he heard yells of "It's a dragon," and "a flying house," and glanced up himself to witness what was possibly the largest carriage he'd ever seen. With his sharp eyes Usopp could see that the coach was a brilliant light blue, and pulled by several monstrous, winged palomino horses. Awestruck, he watched the carriage skim over the treetops and descend, gracefully, to the castle grounds.

The students around Usopp all stood, hushed, and watched as the carriage door was opened. Someone, a large someone, stated to step out. When the person stood up, Usopp immediately realized the need for the mammoth horses. The woman who came out of the carriage was just as large as the man named Hagrid Usopp had met when he walked out of the forest. _Just how many giants does this world have? _

A few people around him gasped and Usopp had the happy revelation that he wasn't the only one surprised. Then, the Headmaster Dumbledore began to clap. Soon, the rest of the school joined in and the giant woman's face, which had been folded into an apprehensive frown, relaxed. She approached Dumbledore, who actually bent to kiss her hand, though, needless to say, he didn't have to bend very much. "My dear Madame Maxine," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," Madame Maxine spoke. Usopp gulped, _even the name sounds intimidating._ "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, thank you."

Usopp tuned out the rest of the conversation and nudged Hermione to look at the students standing in Madame Maxine's huge shadow. Hermione immediately looked intrigued. "They aren't wearing cloaks and their robes are awfully thin. I bet they come from someplace far warmer than here. Hmm… They don't seem to be very happy to be here either…"

Usopp shrugged, "Someone should have warned them of the climate change. I bet they'll get used to it. In any case they'll be warm soon enough. Now, if they had to travel to some of the places _I've_ been _then_ I'd feel sorry for them. I once landed on this island that was so cold it snowed all year round. When you walked outside icicles would freeze your eyes open and so everyone walked around without blinking-"

His monologue was abruptly shut down. "Oh Usopp, it looks like they're going inside," Hermione stated, "I wonder where the Durmstrang students will come from…"

Someone asked aloud how large Durmstrang's horses would be, and even Harry had to laugh. "If they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them."

Then someone shouted, "The lake! Look at the lake!"

The level of the lake seemed to be rising and giant bubbles were exploding on the surface of the black water. All at once, an enormous whirlpool generated in the middle of the lake. And then, slowly so that at first Usopp thought he might be imagining it, something tall and thin, something Usopp could recognize even in his sleep, rose out of the water. Harry shouted, "It's a mast!"

A ship. Usopp stared. A thick feeling of nausea roiled up in his stomach and it took him a full minute to realize that this was the first time he'd seen a ship in this strange world. It reminded him, forcefully, of the reason he called the Going Merry home. Usopp felt himself gazing at the ship so hard that he was almost surprised when people stepped out of it. For a split second he had the insane urge to call out to his crewmates. Then, the illusion was shattered. The ship was nothing like the Going Merry. The ship moored in the lake was almost skeletal, with dim, ghostly lights hanging in the portholes. Unlike _his _ship, this one seemed to be devoid of life. Also, the people walking down from the gangplank were about as different from his crewmates as hide tide from low. They were all following obediently behind some older man with sleek, silver hair, and they were dressed from head to toe in matted fur. _Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, hell even Nami, would never consent to be paraded around like a flock of geese. Luffy, at least, would have already made a grand entrance. _For some reason, the thought made him feel better. _Though it might be a good thing for Luffy and Zoro to learn to dress warmer in the snow. They almost froze last time…_

Usopp was so lost in thoughts of his nakama that he almost didn't notice the strange way Hermione was looking at him. He tuned into the conversation that seemed to have started between Ron and Harry about someone named Krum, Ron badly wanted an autograph, and tried to ignore Hermione's prying eyes.

…

Author's Note: Phew, this is finally done. I can't believe this took me so long. Ah, who cares. It was fun writing it. :) Well, feel free to revew or critique if you like. Thank you so much for, once again, being patient and reading this.


	6. Chapter 6

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Okay, I want to take the time to thank each of my reviewers individually for the wonderful, enthusiastic reviews you guys have written! Without you guys it wouldn't be as fun to keep writing. So thank you Evil Kasumi, the.old.amsterdams,strawberryalchemist, Natycat, Sei-sama, ChainofDreams, mihawklover and BlueFlowerAlways. :) Well, hope this doesn't come out too late, school has started and it's been rather hard to work on this. This story will always be a priority though 'cause it's so much fun. Anyway, if you haven't already, go ahead and start reading the story.

…

_ This feast is excellent,_ Usopp thought; _I'll bet it has food from every country on this world. _He noticed, with laughter, that Ron seemed to have developed an aversion to many of the new types of food resting on their plates. There was something called "Bouillabaisse" that tasted really neat and which was apparently from somewhere called "France" and also some rather pale dessert that he didn't know the name of, and that no one else seemed willing to eat.

Then the Headmaster stood up to address the gathering. "This year, as you all know, Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard Tournament in which both the schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, have been kind enough to join us in competing. Now, myself, along with Mr. Bagman, Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxine will be participating on a panel that will judge the champions' progress as they compete in a set number of challenges. The first judge, however, the judge who decides who may and may not enter is completely impartial." He cleared his throat, "Mr. Filch, would you be so kind as to bring out our judge?"

An older man with a woefully ragged coat clambered up to the front of The Great Hall. In his arms he held what looked like a beautiful treasure chest, rubies, diamonds and all. Usopp couldn't help but clutch at his bag, which he hid inside his cloak, in eagerness hard to reconcile with his usual character. _Surely if I could bring back a treasure as valuable as that chest my crewmates would welcome me back with open arms, a parade even._ But there his thoughts stopped being quite so animated. _Of course, I'd have to steal it in front of hundreds of students first… And then bring it back to a completely different world. _

The man, Filch,_awful name_, stooped down to hoist the large chest from the floor to a podium apparently set up for it. Then the Headmaster, smiling at the anticipatory hush of the crowd, slowly lifted the lid. Inside was what could have easily been the most ordinary, roughly hewn wooden chalice ever made, except for one fact. Over the topmost rim of the cup Usopp could see that the object was filled with an ethereal blue-white flame. This made him pause.

_ Something about that chalice is awfully familiar. I've seen it before, somewhere different though… _Usopp struggled to recollect, but before he could grasp a hold of the wisps of memory stirring through him he was called back by the Headmaster's voice.

"This is the Goblet of Fire. Anyone wishing to participate in the tournament must write their name and the name of their school legibly on a piece of parchment and drop it into the Goblet. You have twenty-four hours in which to do this. Tomorrow night the Goblet will reveal to us three names. That means one champion from each school will be competing." He paused, "To prevent harm to any of our bold, but younger students, there will be an age limit. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be allowed to compete."

There was a general chorus of, "What? Seventeen!" from the entire student population, minus Hermione. The two red-haired twins, Fred and George, or George and Fred, tried to stand up on the table to lead a protest, but were stopped by a couple of rather irritated Gryffindor students. The twins glared at the offenders.

"We're almost-"

"Seventeen. We should be allowed-"

"In!"

Ron began grumbling about "stupid age barriers" and "bloody rules." "We could probably find a way past it you know…"

The Headmaster sighed, "There will be no arguing on the age limit, it's already been decided. Well, on that note I bid you all good night."

With that, Dumbledore tipped his hat at the students and effectively dismissed them all. Everyone began filing out the doors, and Usopp followed as Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way to the back of the hall. The Durmstrang students were about to walk through but stopped when the man, Professor Karkaroff, blocked their way. He was openly staring at Harry. Usopp looked curiously around and saw that several of the foreign students were pointing at Harry's forehead or whispering his name. It all stopped, though, when Professor Mad-Eye Moody came up behind the students and fixed the man Karkaroff with an eerie, rather unnerving stare. Dislike seemed to pour off both men in waves. The Durmstrang students quickly left, some looking rather green. _Wow, when Hermione said Harry's parents were famous she wasn't lying. For students from another country to know who Harry is, is amazing. It's strange though, they kept pointing at his forehead as if it was somehow important. It's somewhat rude to be pointing at someone's scar, but I think that's what they were doing. Sad if that little scar is the kind of thing people find impressive around here. _

Usopp snapped himself out of his thoughts just as Hermione, Ron and Harry were making a beeline for the Gryffindor Common Room. Usopp yawned and was just about to split off toward his own room when Hermione grabbed his arm.

She fixed her gaze on him, "Usopp, we have some things we want to ask you about. Could you come to the Common Room with us?"

Usopp, though slightly on edge by the way all three students were staring at him, consented.

Once settled on one of the many chairs lining the Common Room, Hermione started the conversation. "Usopp, we know you don't come from this world. Harry overheard the teachers talking and they seemed to think that your Grand Line is in a completely different dimension." Usopp heard Harry mutter, "Well, some of them," before Hermione continued, a frown crossing her face. "The point is, the teachers also said that they knew someone who had once gone to your world, and that they brought back some strange tales…"

Hermione seemed uncertain if she should continue, but Usopp hardly cared anymore._Someone has gotten to the Grand Line from here! That means I can go home._ He silently cheered. Then Harry picked up where Hermione had left off and the smile that had been forming on Usopp's face fell off as if it had been treading a dangerous cliff. "They said that most people in your world are either pirates or Marines. Hermione figures that you aren't just a civilian. So…what are you?"

Usopp could see that both Ron and Harry's faces were showing varying degrees of excitement, while Hermione's was creased in slight worry. Usopp was more inclined to lean toward Hermione's way of thinking. The students at Hogwarts might believe the fact of Usopp being a pirate rather neat, personally he saw himself as a rather dashing figure so he wouldn't blame them, but the teachers would certainly not. Adults were almost always more practical minded and would see Usopp for what he was, a rogue. A good-looking rogue, of course, but he couldn't really see Professor McGonagall or Professor Moody caring about that. _How do I get out of this?_ "I'm just a lowly painter, really," he gulped, "Nothing piratey or Mariney about me. If I was back home I could show you one of my many master-"

Ron cut him off. "Oh, come on Usopp. Hermione saw how you looked at Durmstrang's ship."

Hermione added, "Don't tell me your going to pass up the chance to brag of how much treasure you've gained or how many pirates you've caught."

Hermione's voice had been softly mocking, but Usopp hardly liked the glint in her eyes. He steeled himself. "If I tell you this, you've got to promise not to repeat it to a soul. Okay?"

Harry looked unhappy, but Hermione continued regardless, "I can only promise that if your secret is something that won't hurt any of us, or anyone at Hogwarts."

"Fair enough." Usopp sighed, "Where to begin… Well, first of all, you guessed right. I am a pirate."

Ron cheered and pumped a fist in the air while Harry looked at him incredulously. Apparently, when Usopp actually admitted the pirate part out loud it didn't sound quite as believable as Harry had thought it would. Hermione just stared at him. _She'd probably already figured it out and was just confirming her guess._ There was a moment more of silence and then she spoke. "Why?"

Usopp paused at that. _Why? For hundreds of reasons. _ "I guess because my father was one…" he trailed off, and then caught himself, "Because Gol D. Roger's treasure is out there still waiting to be found. Because the Grand Line is the greatest challenge a sailor can ever take…" _Because I found a crew, nakama, that I thought could help make my dream possible... _Usopp frowned, then grinned to cover up what had become a far too serious moment, "And because back home people call me the greatest marksman to ever sail the Grand Line! They call me Captain Usopp, sailor of the most dangerous seas and tamer of the fiercest monsters. Only those too dense to realize who I am don't run away screaming at the sight of me."

He finished off his monologue by examining his nails as if the details he had just mentioned were far too trivial for him to care about. Their reactions were not exactly as he'd anticipated.

"Oh, mate, you're a riot!" Came Ron's muffled voice. He was apparently trying very hard not to collapse to the floor laughing. Harry and Hermione had more decency, but Harry was looking decidedly too blue in the face, from what Usopp could see around the hand trying to stop an eruption of laughter, for his liking.

Hermione was the first to cease giggling, though she only seemed to achieve silence through severe self-control. "Well Usopp," she laughed for a second, but then brought it back under control, "what I would like to know about is something that one of the teacher's briefly mentioned. They said that, so far as it appeared, there was no magic in your world. Your reactions when you first came here seem to confirm it, but I was wondering how you deal with the Sea Dragons and large lizards in your world if you don't have magic to keep them at bay. They sound dangerous."

Usopp was about to answer flippantly that no one he knew _needed_ magic to ward off the creatures of the Grand Line, but he seemed to have caught onto Hermione's train of thought and found it more intriguing than he thought it would. _How indeed? No one in this world seems to have anywhere near as much physical strength as Zoro or Sanji. Devil Fruits don't seem to exist here either. Why are our worlds so different?_ He shrugged and answered honestly, "In the sense you're talking about I really have no idea. All I know is that our worlds are a little different. Back where I come from there are a lot of people who can take on a Sea King, err... Sea Dragon, single handed." He puffed himself up proudly, "I'm certain _I_ could do it if someone gave me the chance. I need only-"

He found himself interrupted, "Are you sure there is nothing even remotely like magic where you come from? I've read theories on separate dimensions and, well, granted, they _are_ only theories, but most of them conclude that even if dimensions are separate they must have several important underlying things in common with each other to make it possible to cross over. Magic is very important in this world so…"

"Well… There are the things that we call Devil Fruits," Usopp noticed everyone appeared to be intrigued with the name. "In our world certain types of fruits grow in special places and they're more unusual than the normal fruit we eat. There are probably more varieties of Devil Fruits than anyone can count but it's rare to actually see one. It's not as rare to meet someone who has eaten one though, 'cause dangerous fruits grow in dangerous places and the people who eat the fruit like to show off."

"Why? What do they show off?"

"Well, the Devil Fruits give people powers. I guess it is kind of like magic if you think about it that way. Some fruits can turn people to rubber, others let them detach and reattach their body parts, others can let them turn into smoke or fire or even control another person's emotions. The only thing they all have in common is that once you've eaten one you lose the ability to _swim_."

Ron couldn't seem to understand the gravity in Usopp's voice, "Well, who goes swimming all the time anyway? Sounds like a fair tradeoff to me."

Hermione barely concealed the rolling of her eyes as Usopp continued, "Most of our world is made up of ocean. Usually the only lands you can find are small or large islands."

With a small grin Hermione spoke, "So, to obtain one power you give up another. Since most people choose to be either a Marine or a pirate I imagine it's somewhat of a risk to eat the Devil Fruit."

Usopp nodded. There was silence for another minute before Ron, once again, broke in. "So, Usopp. Have you ever killed anyone?"

…

Author's Note: So, after about a half a year's wait, here I am again! Okay, so it hasn't been that long, but still… I am sorry. I will finish this, I will! Anywho, this chapter is a little boring but it explains some things that need to be explained. Feel free to review or critique if you like. Thank you guys so much for reading this.


	7. Chapter 7

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Hello, everyone! I would have updated this story during Spring Break, but in order to write recreationally I needed to get all my Psychology reports done. Then I had to work and then I was sick for a while…oh well. You guys are used to the long intermissions by now I'm sure. Oh, and don't worry. This chapter has some actual action in it; it's not just all talking like the last one. Well, anyway, thank you guys so much for the reviews. They mean a lot.

…

"Of course he's never killed anyone." Hermione spoke, lecture voice up and running, "Usopp is just a couple of years older than us."

Ron broke in, "But he's a pirate-"

"That still doesn't make him a-"

Usopp let loose a grandiose sigh. "You don't think I've ever offed anyone? Why then you can't possibly know what the great Captain Usopp is capable of. I've felled a thousand foes of varying degrees of evilness. I've slain a million Marines and pirates. When I'm really enraged I even tear down large trees and boulders. Truly you do not understand the scope of the power standing before you. I feel pity."

Harry raised a brow, voice flat. "You've never killed anything bigger than an ant have you?"

"Killed…no. Knocked out, yes."

Ron let out a half-disappointed chuckle while Hermione trudged on with what was beginning to feel like an interrogation. Her voice softened though. "You've said you're the captain of your own ship. So, what are your crewmates like? How many do you have?"

Now that was a question Usopp wasn't really prepared to answer. He scratched at his head, gnawed on his lip and tried to think of some way of stalling the questioning. He couldn't. "Ummm… Well, my crewmates…" He trailed off, then shrugged. "I guess before I tell you about them I've gotta confess that I'm not exactly the captain… Yet. I'll have my own ship someday. My captain now is Captain Luffy. You may not believe it but he's actually my age. He's the strongest of the crew though. Luffy can take down Sea Kings and worse in a single hit and a while ago he even defeated a Shichibukai, a War Lord of the Sea. He's the strongest person I know and he's also the only Devil Fruit user who uses the Gomu Gomu no Mi, umm, Rubber Fruit. Next there's Zoro. He's Luffy's First Mate and scarily strong. Not that I'm scared of him of course. He fights using three swords, one of which he holds with his teeth. People call him a demon. I guess… Nami is the one who joined next. She's a thief and navigator, but for a while no one was really sure she was a part of the crew. She doesn't fight a whole lot, but when she does she kicks ass with the Clima-Tact I made for her. I joined the crew next… So, I guess next on the list is Sanji. Sanji is our resident chef. He's as strong as Zoro and fights entirely with his feet. Ummm… Chopper came next. He's a doctor and a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit-"

Harry interrupted with a "totally not getting it" look on his face. "A what?"

"A reindeer. He ate a Devil Fruit and it turned him human enough to talk. I can't really explain it any better… So, anyway, the last person to join our crew was Robin. She ate a Devil Fruit that allows her to sprout limbs apart from her body. I don't really know a lot about her, but I do know that she can break someone's neck as cleanly as popping open a can. That's it. We have a pretty small crew."

Ron whistled. "Some crew. Wish we could meet 'em mate."

"…Yeah."

Usopp went silent. _I'm talking about them as if they're still my crew, but… Are they really? I wonder if they'd want me to be spouting off all these things about them. _Hermione stopped his musing. "We should be getting to bed before the prefects start patrolling the halls."

…

The next day Usopp found himself wandering down corridor after corridor. It no longer unnerved him when the people in the paintings moved or when a ghost floated by, but he was beginning to realize that he almost missed the fright. _This place is so boring. There's nothing to learn and no adventures within the school grounds. If I had someplace to go it might be more exciting. Of course, exciting could equal dangerous, but I think I might actually be willing to take the chance. _

A few minutes later Usopp was still thinking bored thoughts when he met up with Hermione, Harry, Ron and the nervous boy from Mad-Eye Moody's class. _Neville something I think._ "Hey," he greeted them.

Harry answered his wave. "Hey. You remember Neville right?"

"Sure."

"We're all on our way to Potions, unfortunately. What are you up to?"

Usopp thought about it. "Absolutely nothing. I think I may go brain-dead from the lack of anything to do."

Ron grinned widely, freckles dark against the white of his face, "You can join us then mate. Snape's class has got somethin' to do with explosions today. Should be a riot if anybody messes up, and if the git doesn't manage to expel us all for following the lesson." 

Having nothing better to do, and liking the thought of high explosives in a classroom, Usopp agreed. The group made it to Snape's Potions class just as the professor was closing the door and, consequently, received a furious glare from the teacher and the worst seats in the room. Hermione and Ron ended up sitting at a table together while Harry was left to fend for himself beside a burly looking Slytherin. Usopp managed to get a seat with the Neville kid at least somewhat near the back of the classroom. He personally didn't want to draw too much attention to himself with this professor. Usopp had heard Harry and Ron talk about the man as if he was public enemy number one, or possibly hell spawn. The glare the teacher threw his way when he seated himself didn't help the man's case any.

"I see our _guest_ is taking up space in my classroom. For what reason I wonder?"

Usopp gulped. _If bluntness was an art form… _"Uh, well, the Headmaster informed me that I could sit in on classes. I don't have a wand so I figured it'd be okay if I just sat and watched."

"Hmph," was the professor's only answer as he turned back to the chalkboard. "Today, class," the word class was said with such a loathing bark that Usopp was almost tempted to flee the classroom in outright terror. He managed to sit still though, "we will be making the Deflagratio Potion. The potion is a rather advanced one so I doubt any of you will come close to mastering it, but if you _can_, you will find that it has many uses. Look in your texts if you seriously want to know anything more." With that the professor sneered from beneath his hooked nose and turned on his heel, his robes billowing out behind him like a… like a…. _Oh my Sea King, I didn't know vampires taught at this school! Why didn't anyone warn me?! _Usopp glanced around, surreptitiously looking to see if anyone else seemed half as terrified as he felt. No one but the Neville kid seemed to be at all nervous. Most people actually looked excited._ Neville's an anxious kid as it is soooo… Perhaps there's nothing to worry about. _

Usopp gave a half relieved sigh, but, even so, couldn't help marking off a mental checklist on the so-called professor. _Vampires are usually pale. Okay, the professor's definitely that. Some vamps have long fingernails… Umm. Doesn't look like he does. I wonder if there's a mirror anywhere around here? Vampires aren't supposed to be able to cast shadows…but, oh good. That may be the creepiest shadow I've ever seen, but at least it's there. I'll just have to keep careful observation of the professor to make completely sure. _At that moment Neville came back with the ingredients he needed and sat down next to Usopp. 

Intrigued about the lesson, Usopp looked over Neville's shoulder at the book and began to read.

Arguably the most important use, to date, for the Deflagratio Potion is that of the controlled burn. Wizards have, for more than fifty years, made use of the potion to set fire to an area of forest and burn the thick undergrowth. This prevents an accidental fire from occurring. The Deflagratio Potion, if made right, will start up with an explosive burst and burn steadily for a few hours before disappearing completely. The ingredients consist of…

Usopp broke off reading when heard a soft sigh. Neville was sitting down, gazing at the text with a confused frown upon his face.

"What's wrong?"

Neville glanced up with a start. "Uh, nothing really. I just can't figure out how to put the extract of incendi… incendium into the potion without well, exploding everything. I usually just put things in and hope everything works out but, well, I haven't had a lot of luck with that in the past. I'm pretty hopeless at this."

Usopp nodded in sympathy. "Don't be embarrassed. You can't be good in every subject. Besides, it looks like all you need to do is add some charcoal before you put in the extract and the potion will turn out fine. You know, I bet if you mix the charcoal in with some wood fragments the explosion'll be bigger. It doesn't seem like it would have any harmful effects on the potion's composition…"

Stopping his thoughts before he became too embroiled in the fascinating subject, Usopp glanced back up at Neville to see if his idea was in any way inspiring. Apparently, however, it was not just Usopp's idea, but Usopp himself who had become suddenly awe-inspiring. The look etched into Neville's face was one of absolute shock and adoration. The nervous boy spoke, keeping his voice down so that the professor couldn't hear. "How did you get so good at potions? I thought Professor Dumbledore said that you were taught different subjects at your old school than what our teachers teach at Hogwarts. Is potions a core class for all schools then?"

"Uh, yeah. My school covered it. I'm probably about a year behind everyone though."

"Wow, so why aren't you taking classes with the third years then?"

Usopp paused. _What was the cover story the Headmaster took me aside to explain again? I should've paid more attention… Oh, yeah. _"Oh, my father works within the Japanese Ministry of Magic, but he was called over here to work on a special assignment. I was taking schooling over in Japan, but my father decided he didn't want to leave me there and so, for the moment, I'm taking some, select, classes at Hogwarts and then I'm being home-schooled over the summer."

"That's a lot of schooling." Neville blinked as he looked back to his cauldron. "Do you think it's supposed to be bubbling like that?"

Nodding again, Usopp took hold of the potions book and began flipping pages. Neville's Deflagratio Potion was almost complete so he figured he could see what other kinds of potions the book contained recipes for. _Some of these might come in handy. Lets see, they have a Forgetfulness Potion, nice, an Aging Potion, a Love Potion, a Sleeping Potion (that could be very useful,) a Draught of Living Dea- Whoa, definitely not!_ Usopp couldn't help but shudder at the illustration provided on the page. It consisted of a gaunt woman lying down in the weeds beside an open grave. She seemed to have a very sunken face and, though her eyes were wide open, they were filmed over with death. _Who draws this stuff?_ He carefully turned to the next page, hoping the picture would be more student-friendly.

It certainly seemed to be. The text at the top of the page read "The Shrinking Potion," and the picture showed an outline of a large house cat. Inside the outline were several more, increasingly detailed drawings, of the same cat. There were about five outlines in all. The middle picture was especially tiny. When Usopp glanced at the ingredients list he sobered a bit. The potion contained extracts of Caterpillar, Daisy Roots, Leech Juice, Rat Spleen and something called a Shrivelfig. While some of the items would be easy to find even in his own world, others, like the Leech Juice and Rat Spleen, would undoubtedly be more difficult. The Shrivelfig could very well be impossible to find outside of the potions class. _It would be a great help if I knew what the hell a Shrivelfig actually is._ Perhaps he would just have to collect the ingredients at the school. Then he could prepare an emergency supply of the stuff for when he, or _if_ he, got back to his own world. Usopp knew that it would be a smart idea to memorize the ingredients and look for the items on the grounds of Hogwarts. _I don't want to go stealing things from these people. Well, not from this professor anyway. I still have to check for fangs. _

The end of the lesson came when the professor's oily voice squeaked across the rows of tables. "Put down the ingredients and prepare a vial of your potion to set on my desk. If any of you have done them right, something I highly doubt, then you will only be required to write a three-page report on the material. For everyone else it will be six pages. If any of you dawdle I'll add on to the assignment."

Beside Usopp, Neville shot a frightened look at the professor and proceeded to almost trip over his cauldron. Usopp watched the nervous boy shuffle to the teacher's desk with a bit of apprehension. _If he fails it'll be partly my fault… _The professor scrutinized Neville's potion with a look of distaste, but Usopp could see the man's eyes slowly get larger as he performed the visual test. Finally the man just snorted, mumbled "three pages" and shooed Neville away. Neville turned to look at Usopp with a countenance full of relief, but Usopp didn't miss the vile glare the professor sent to him when no one else was looking. _He can't know, can he? _

Both Usopp and the professor were distracted when one of the Slytherin boys accidentally dropped their vile. The resulting explosion put a jagged hole in the stone wall and set the kid's robes on fire. Ron seemed to find the whole thing immensely gratifying.

…

Authors Note: Hey everyone! This story is great fun to write and I'm glad people are enjoying it. I've have lately, however, begun having a bit of a problem keeping the entire story coherent and all of the facts straight. So, if anyone does see any problems with the story, anything I've missed or anything that doesn't make a lot of sense, please leave me a note in a review (I don't check my email often) and I'll fix it. Arigatou gaziamasu everyone! (I hope I wrote that right…)


	8. Chapter 8

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Hello again! It's been brought to my attention that I messed up a bit in my story when I wrote about Neville's past. I decided not to fix it since it was only about one line and the line itself wasn't really revealing. Thank you Silverchild of the winds for pointing it out. :) I'll try not to mess up in future. If I mess up on something really big I will fix it though. Well, thank you guys so much for the reviews and critique!

…

A few days after his first potions class Usopp entered the Great Hall to find the entire student population buzzing with talk. Fred, or possibly George, accosted him; "They're picking the winners from the Goblet of Fire! I bet it'll be Angelina."

Hermione seemed to agree, her nose was scrunched up with impatience and she kept picking up her fork only to put it back down without eating.

"This is so exciting!" She breathed.

Ron, for once, wasn't focused on his food either. Usopp noticed he was sneaking covert glances at Hermione's face and fidgeting. Just when everyone in the Great Hall was becoming their most impatient, and consequently, louder, Professor Dumbledore stood up. With a simple wave of his hand he converted the long tables the students sat upon to two stands lining both sides of the Hall.

"The Goblet is almost ready to decide the contestants. Once a contender is decided I ask that person to come to the top of the Hall and into the adjoining chamber. When all three contestants are ready they will receive the instructions for the first challenge-" He cut himself off, "Ah! I'd say that the Goblet is now ready."

Usopp, and everyone else in the room, turned toward the chalice that had been set in front of the Hall. The Goblet seemed to give a slight shudder and a violent flare of reddish fire lit the area. The light threw, in stark relief, the charred paper that burst up over of the Goblet's rim. The Headmaster deftly caught it.

"Durmstrang's champion will be Viktor Krum." He stated.

The Hall erupted in a bout of raucous cheering. Beside Usopp, Ron shouted something along the lines of the result not being a surprise. He then elbowed Hermione and whispered, "Krum made it! Can you believe it?"

Hermione just sighed and rubbed her arm. The whole room hushed again. The cup shot forth some more crimson fire and another piece of paper.

"Beauxbatons' champion is," he paused, "Fleur Delacour."

The Great Hall was filled with loud cheering once again, the only difference being that most of the Beauxbatons' students were indulging in fits of jealous tears. Usopp gazed toward the chalice once more, scuffing his foot against the cold, stone flooring. An odd feeling pervaded his senses and he nervously glanced around for the source. He came up with nothing. The Goblet flashed red once more.

"The winner from Hogwarts," here there was a long pause, "is… Cedric Diggory."

No individual voice in the room could be heard for the cacophony of cheers, screeches and yells that invaded the space. It almost seemed as if a bomb had gone off at the Hufflepuff table, there was so much noise.

It took a while for the uproar to clear away. It took even longer for a boy in a yellow scarf, Diggory presumably, to make his way out from the sea of congratulatory handshakes to the room beyond the Great Hall. When all the noise died down Professor Dumbledore attempted to speak again. He began to talk, asking the students of the various schools to cheer on their champion, but something distracted him.

Usopp soon saw what. The cup was glowing red again. _I thought there were only supposed to be three… _Another charred paper flew out, fluttering slightly in the air before the Headmaster caught it.

In a second Usopp was, at once, somewhere else and in the exact same spot. _A row of stands. Nervous, confused faces. _A definite feeling of foreboding, different from his usual, causal fear, arose. _Something's going to happen. I have a feeling no one's going to enjoy it. _Usopp suddenly knew what had been bothering him earlier. _This is exactly like that dream I had…_ He shuddered, held his breath as if thirty feet underwater.

A long pause.

"…Harry Potter."

Usopp's head snapped toward Harry's. _Surely he wouldn't- _The look on Harry's face told him quite a bit. It was blank, stunned like a deer caught within a hunter's sights.

The boy blurted, "I didn't put my name in. You guys' know I didn't…" An almost plaintive note had crept into his words, but neither Ron nor Hermione said anything.

The Headmaster called out to Usopp's newfound friend and Usopp became aware of the whispers erupting around the Hall. Some of the voices were faint, afraid of being heard, but others were just barely concealed, haughty anger in their tones. Together all of the voices seemed to create a buzzing sound. It was definitely unpleasant. Poor Harry looked almost too scared to move and Usopp noticed that, when his newfound friend made to get up from the stand, everyone's eyes tracked him.

As soon as Harry left, the whole room went silent, and stayed that way. There was a general aura of malicious anger everywhere except the Gryffindor section of the Hall. Usopp realized that most of the faces surrounding him were rather pleased. Most Gryffindors' were just trying very hard to hide the happiness until it could be let out in a less dangerous area. The Headmaster turned toward the students still seated.

"It is past time you all went to bed, I think," the man's face was stoic. Only a hint of perplexity lingered behind the half-moon glasses. "Go on."

The Gryffindor students slowly followed their prefects out the wooden doors and into the hallway. Hermione and Ron wandered near the back and, for the first time, Usopp snatched a good look at their faces. Ron's was crimson, redder than his hair, and so suffused with some emotion, anger probably, that none of his freckles were visible. Hermione's face hadn't changed color, but she seemed very close to chewing her bottom lip off. Ron spoke first.

"Well, isn't this just the icing on the cake? Harry put his name in the stinking Goblet without telling us! Can you believe…?" He trailed off for a minute as if trying to organize his emotions in a less volatile manner, "Can you, can you believe him!? He could've at least let us in on it!"

Hermione put a hand to the boy's shoulder, "Ron, you can't seriously think Harry would do this-"

"Oh, I can think it all right! I'm going to bed, goodnight 'Mione, 'Sopp!"

Having said the last word, Ron stomped off toward the Gryffindor dormitory, shooting a seething look back at the Great Hall as he went. Hermione heaved a breath of a sigh.

She muttered, "He'd at least never do it without telling us…"

Hermione stood a few moments, contemplation clear on her face, and then turned toward Usopp. She shifted her eyes to look straight into his. Her voice held a searching quality to it.

"Usopp, do you have any idea who could have wanted Harry to enter the tournament?"

"No," Usopp's nose, some of it anyway, crinkled in thought, "I'm fairly sure I haven't seen anyone who seemed like they'd do that."

Hermione paused. "Oh. Well, I was just thinking that since you're new here, since you don't have actual ties to any particular house, you might have seen someone acting oddly. Maybe someone we might overlook, because of preconceptions against other groups of students." She searched his eyes, but didn't give him time to answer. "I was also wondering if, perhaps, you could help me with something."

Usopp almost answered yes, but something in the girl's tone told him to be wary. "I… suppose I could try."

She nodded. She obviously expected nothing more. "I was wondering if you could help me research possible spells that could have disrupted the Goblet's magical barrier. It must have been something strong," she paused, "and I think that if we narrow the list down to a small group of possible spells we might get a clue to who could have entered Harry in the tournament."

Usopp had a vague feeling that he knew what the girl wanted now. She wanted to keep him, as one of the newest and most suspicious newcomers to the school, close at her side. She wanted to make sure he wasn't reporting to someone. _I suppose I can't really blame her. It's not as if I'd do anything differently if I was back on the Going Merry and this kind of thing happened to one of my crew…_

"Yes, I'll try to help."

He watched her walk away with misgiving. _Here I am suspected again. When can I leave?_

…

The next morning Usopp got up early and headed toward the library. _If I get there first I'll have a better chance of finding a place to hide then if I wait 'till Hermione's already there. _Usopp knew that finding a book on dimension travel wouldn't be easy, but sitting in on Hogwarts classes hadn't yielded up any valuable information yet either.

He ran his finger along the spine of a likely looking book. The cover was brown and peeling and the title, as far as he could tell with the worn out calligraphy, read Demen-something. _Another spelling for dimension maybe?_ He cracked the spine to check it out and was greeted with a picture of what looked like an old woman in a straightjacket. Inside, in fading gold letters, it read _Dementia: How to prevent it, why it's sometimes fun not to prevent it and how to fool your relatives into thinking you have it. _

Usopp stared down at the ridiculous article. Then quickly put it away. _Well, that was completely not useful… _Over the course of the next few hours Usopp delved into the depths, figuratively speaking, of the massive library. He found titles like _Dimension Hopping: Completely Clichéd_, _World's Away: A Lover's Story_ and _That Other Galaxy_, which was a psychologically compelling tale of a teenager's journey to the inside of his mind, according to the review on the back. He was just beginning to realize that he hadn't even glanced at ninety-nine percent of the material on the bottom shelves whenthe library's wooden doors creaked open. Usopp probably would have thought nothing of it if he hadn't heard the relieved sigh the person uttered as soon as they entered the door.

He turned around, "Harry?"

Harry, who'd been walking as fast as he could to other end of the library, halted mid-step. "Oh, hi Usopp."

Usopp's "hello" almost merged into a "what the hell happened to you?" as he took in Harry's miserable countenance. Then he remembered. Usopp deliberated, then reached out a hand to stop Harry before he fled. "Do you want to sit with me? This corner's the best for hiding from other people anyway."

Harry seemed surprised, but reluctantly nodded. "Sure."

Usopp thought a bit more. "_How's it going?" probably isn't that appropriate right now… _He settled for a "What brings you to the library? I'd have thought you'd go back to the dorms if you didn't want to talk to anyone."

Harry shrugged, "There's still party stuff all over the dormitory," his fingers were clenched together so tightly that all of the veins showed, "and I don't want to run into Ron."

"He said something?"

"Yeah, hell, I wouldn't have ever thought-" he shook himself, "but none of this is your problem. What are you working on?"

Usopp waved a hand vaguely at the various books in front of him, "Trying to find my way home, I guess."

Harry frowned, "You know, they probably won't have anything really helpful outside of the restricted section. You'll need a teacher's note for that, and then you'll need to know exactly which book you want."

Usopp felt like deflating, but at least he knew more than he did before. "Oh, well, thank-"

"Maybe Hermione can help you out with that. I could ask her."

Usopp felt a rather irrational rush of hope, followed by the knowledge that Hermione wouldn't help him until she was completely sure he wasn't responsible for Harry's current depression. He said sure anyway.

The two sat there for a while in uncomfortable stillness. Usopp decided to break it. "Hey, Harry. You know, I was once in a predicament somewhat similar to yours." Usopp ignored his new friend's skeptical eyebrow, "I was. You see there's this little place called Syrup Village in this huge ocean named East Blue. The Great Captain Usopp used to live there, you know. Then one day, I spotted pirates sailing close to the shores of the little island Syrup Village calls home."

Harry interrupted, an amused smile playing on his face. "I thought you said that you're a pirate?"

Usopp snorted, "I wasn't back then, okay? Don't interrupt. Anyway, these fierce pirates settled off the shore of the island. I saw them and knew that they weren't anybody to be reckoned with. Their flag was the flag of the infamous Black Cat Pirates and the murderous Captain Kuro was their leader. So I, being of sound mind and all, shouted for everyone to hide because pirates were coming. Well, I warned and warned the people of the village. I told them exactly where the pirates were docked, but not one of them believed me. They wrote it off as another 'pirate scare', there were a lot of them back then, and went back to opening up their shops. Well, I just couldn't let the pirates kill all the townspeople, no matter ungrateful they were, and so I gathered up my crew of thousands, all of them loyal to the marrow, and set off toward the encroaching ship."

Harry interrupted again, this time trying to hold in laughter. "So where did you get the loyal crew if you weren't a pirate yet?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Usopp admitted, "So, okay there weren't thousands. There were only around four hundred or so, but they were still loyal. Before you ask again, I found them earlier, wandering lost, alone and captain-less on the other side of the island, which is an arid desert. They said they'd join me if I gave them the Black Cat Pirate's ship. Anyway, along with the bravest of the warriors I ran. We met up with the pirates before they reached the town. The warriors launched their cannons and I swung my 5-ton hammer. Together, we beat down the invading pirates. You have no idea how much praise the townspeople gave me after saving them. They named a day after me, bless them."

Usopp wiped a tear from his eye and was gratified to see Harry finally break into a chuckle. Harry then grinned, "Now I know what to do if I ever meet fierce pirates."

Usopp grinned back, "Or demented clowns. It works on them too."

"Right."

…

Authors Note: Yeah, I finally churned out another chapter! Woohoo, go me! Has anyone else noticed that each one gets successively longer? At this rate the last chapters will be around 8,000 words each. O.o Anyhow, thank you for reading! Feel free to send a review or critique if you like.


	9. Chapter 9

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Hmm, I've come to the conclusion that I may never finish this story… I'll try my best though! So sorry everyone! Umm…. Things in the book didn't occur in precisely this order, but… Oh well. Artistic license.

…

After a few more stories', Usopp could see that Harry was feeling somewhat better. Either that, or he was becoming better at hiding his fear. At any rate, around the time dusk filtered in through the library's windows, Harry grudgingly got up to return to the Gryffindor dormitory. Usopp was left alone then, with only contemplation for friendship. He discovered it made for very dangerous company.

_Obviously Harry didn't put his name in that goblet, _he thought, _No one could possibly be that morose, when they thought no one was watching, if they had planned the whole thing. It's really ridiculous to think that the boy would put himself in such danger on purpose. But… Most of the students here seem to have only two ways of seeing Harry Potter. They either look at him as if he's some wonder boy, incredible in everything he does, or they make him out to be a reckless attention-seeker, incredibly dangerous in the things he does. Is this what fame brings? _He decided not to dwell on that. _Regardless, he shouldn't have to fight his way through the tournament alone. _

In the library Harry had told him the date of the first task, but had also mentioned that he'd have no idea what he'd be facing. Usopp frowned. _Harry seems to know how to use some magic at least, but it's always better to go up against something with a little foreknowledge of what it is you're going to face. I wonder if the other schools' have any clue? _

Usopp pushed his chair back and worriedly set the last of his study material on the shelves. He had to be drunk on saltwater or something. Why else would he think that spying on the competing schools' teachers was a good idea?

…

Usopp chose the Saturday before the first task to commence hard-core snooping. At first he'd tried hanging, unobtrusively, around the other judges to fish for clues, but he hadn't been at all successful. People had started to notice him lounging around in deserted hallways, near restricted bathrooms, underneath dinner tables… _I'm pretty sure that Bagman man thinks I have a fetish for feet. _Now was the time to put all his amazing deduction skills to better use.

So he decided, with steely bravery, to investigate the Durmstrang ship. _If anyone knows what the next task will bring it'll be that Karkaroff man._ _He seems to be a shrewd one. _After hours, Usopp carefully let himself out of his room, stilling his breath as if he felt breathing could alert the entire hallway to his activities. He slid the door closed, winced as it clicked, and shoved his hands into his robe pockets as he'd seen countless heroes nonchalantly do in times of crisis. It took him a second to realize that he looked ridiculous. It took him even longer to realize that, if someone caught him sneaking out, and it came to a fight, his hands wouldn't do him any good resting in his pockets. He quickly took out his slingshot. Then, he began slinking down the various halls of the school.

Usopp located the entranceway within fifteen minutes. With an almost Luffy-like grin he wrapped his long fingers around the door handle, turned it, then spat out a whispered curse. Footfalls were resounding softly off the corridors leading to the school's entrance. Usopp nearly panicked as he heard them. _Oh, Pirate-King, I can't tell where they're coming from! This is not good, this is not good… I just need to pick a place to hide and find a plausible excuse. _Usopp nearly gutted himself on a coat rack as he dashed behind a patterned curtain. There really wasn't a lot of time to wonder if the whole "Help Harry" mission was worth it, but Usopp found himself pondering it anyway. _There is no way all this "jailbreak" stuff is healthy. _

He stiffened as the footfalls entered the room and stopped. He couldn't see who it was that stood in the ensuing silence, but the person, after waiting a minute, muttered something with a confused air and then quietly turned around and left.

Usopp let relief wash through his frame. Then he quickly made his way out the massive doors.

…

He reached the ship swiftly and eyed its gaunt exterior with disdain. No lanterns glowed through the cavernous windows, no stifled whispering could be heard within. The only sound accompanying the ship was the gentle lapping of inky water against the hull. Usopp began to sneak near one of the windows in the hope of catching someone awake, someone gossiping about the tournament, when the sound of crunching grass met his ears. Crouching beside the lake's dark edge, he listened.

Stillness, and then more footsteps.

Usopp breathed through his nose, tried to eliminate any noise, and drew his slingshot tight. He wasn't the stealthiest pirate around so he stayed far back from where he presumed the person to be. Then he began to follow. The footsteps continued on, reaching the edge of the forest and passing through the thick, tangled brush. As the soft steps kept their steady march, Usopp began to wonder if he was following the wrong person. _Just because I've stalked them since reaching the Durmstrang ship doesn't mean they're part of said school… _He frowned in puzzlement and ran a hand through his thick hair. When his fingers became tangled in the strands Usopp automatically adjusted his goggles to help free his hand. Then he stopped. _Goggles! _Rolling his eyes at his own expense, Usopp set the ocular device over his eyes and gazed in the direction of the footsteps. Through the gloom, he could see a tall, lanky man with short, white hair passing swiftly through the trees. _So it is Karkaroff. _

The knowledge kept him moving. But Usopp paused every now and then, placing his hand against the rough bark of a tree, and tried to measure how far he'd moved from the castle. It must have been a half an hour of scuffing through dirt and dead leaves before he heard the shouts. Disembodied yells and commands floated along the outskirts of the forest, eventually becoming coherent enough to recognize as words. Phrases met his ears with all the semblance of a stage play.

"Keep that lizard down, She's dangerous!"

"Watch the eggs!"

"That's not going to work!"

Usopp's confusion was immediately rectified when he peeked into the clearing from behind a large behemoth of a tree. He wasn't sure whether to stand in awe or shrivel up and die. _It would certainly save the monsters the trouble…_

In the very middle of the clearing, roaring and stamping and hissing, stood four dragons. Each leviathan was battling a group of handlers and each seemed very, _very_ pissed. Usopp staggered back in panic as a burgundy dragon with gleaming, golden spikes shot its sinewy neck towards the handler nearest to him. The man himself had to jump to the side to avoid the fangs snapping in his direction. Another dragon, this one blue with hints of silver, beat its enormous wings against its sides and tried to shake off the metal collar and chain attached to its neck. A third lizard, the color of shamrocks, spit and snarled at everyone in the vicinity, narrowly missing two people with what looked to be some sort of noxious toxin. To one side of the clearing, an onyx-scaled dragon, its body hunched low to the ground, was screeching and warbling in anger. A tail replete with jagged spikes thrashed against the dirt beneath it, gouging trenches in the ground. Then, a thud shook the tree Usopp was leaning against, and he noticed that the dragon on the far side of the clearing, the green one, had fallen to the earth. People with wands in their outstretched hands closed in on the creature. Usopp heard the shout of "Stupefy," from several other groups and watched in fear as golden light smashed into the rest of the dragons' hides, knocking the remaining leviathans from their feet. Relative silence followed the outcry. Then, as the handlers were beating iron pegs into the dirt with their wands, and attaching the dragons' chains to the pegs, Usopp recognized Hagrid's gruff, booming voice coming from near the black dragon.

"What breeds ya got here Charlie?"

Usopp blinked, wondered what the giant man was doing in the area, and crept nearer. When he got closer to the dark lizard he saw that one slitted yellow eye was still partially open, completely alert. A single, cat-like pupil focused on him as he walked. Usopp's knees began to tremble, but he ignored it, very bravely, and continued on. Near the edge of the forest he tried to listen in on the large man's conversation. Hagrid was speaking to a handler, one with hair as red as Ron's. A little behind the two stood the Beauxbatons' Headmistress.

The man, Charlie evidently, spoke, "The black one's a Hungarian Horntail." He paused, "Nasty one really. Worst of the bunch. The green one's a Common Welsh Green, the red one's a Chinese Fireball, pretty rare, and the blue one's a Swedish Short-Snout."

The red-haired man watched Madame Maxime walk toward the clearing with obvious distaste. "The champions aren't to know what the first task is about, Hagrid. She'll be sure to tell her student."

Hagrid, obliviously gazing at the dragons in a sort of reverent awe, replied, "I jus' thought she'd like to see 'em. They're amazing."

Charlie rolled his eyes, but seemed to think better of speaking.

Hagrid continued on, this time in a more alert way. "Four dragons. One fer each eh?" A slightly concerned look crossed his face, "Will they have to fight 'em?"

The handler shook his head, "I don't think so. They just have to find a way to get past them. Of course we'll be there if it starts to get nasty, but still… I wonder why they wanted nesting mothers?" He suddenly shot Hagrid a shrewd glance, "And no you cannot have one."

Usopp gazed back at the massive dragons and swallowed the sudden rise of bile in his throat. _Poor Harry. This isn't going to be easy. _As the conversation took a less informative turn, he decided that it'd be prudent to leave before someone noticed him. Concealing himself within the trees, Usopp trudged back toward the castle, thoughts weighing heavily on his mind.

…

Creeping along deserted corridors was beginning to make Usopp nervous. He knew the layout of the castle fairly well, at least the areas around the Gryffindor dormitory, the classes he'd attended, and his own room, but, at the current moment, he was somewhat lost. He knew he was somewhere around one of the classes he had previously been to, but he couldn't remember how to get to the Gryffindor rooms, or his own, from there. He sighed, most of the pictures surrounding him were asleep, so as long as he was quiet he shouldn't be caught. _But I can't stay out here all night… _

A quiet thud interrupted his thoughts. Usopp hastily took out his slingshot, fumbled with the little ammunition he had left, and readied it for battle. A slight creaking noise followed, startling him until he realized that the noises had come from one of the classrooms up ahead. Usopp thought about running, but no more noises occurred after the two he'd already heard. He took a deep, almost rib-cracking breath, realized that it wasn't any of his business who else was also sneaking around at night, and let his curiosity rule his decision. _After all, it's probably just a student trying to set up a prank in one of their classrooms. If it is, I'll just leave. If not, well, I might be able to follow Nami's example and keep whatever I find as blackmail material. _

Usopp soon witnessed that it wasn't a classroom the noises had come from. It was an office. Mad-Eye Moody's office if the name on the door was anything to go by. He cautiously approached. The old door had one of those windows set in it, the kind a lot of offices seemed to have, but the window itself had been covered from within by some sort of dark covering. As he crept closer, shoes lightly settling upon each floorboard, Usopp noticed something odd. The door, though from a glance it looked to be closed, was actually slightly ajar, as if someone wanted the option of leaving in a hurry, with as little noise as possible.

Trepidation in every breath, he reached the door. To put his eye against the crack, through which he could see a smidgeon of the classroom, he knelt down near the floor. Hopefully whoever was occupying the room at the moment would only think to watch out for intruders at eye level. It took his eyes a second to adjust to the thicker darkness of the room beyond, but when they did, he almost gave the game away by gasping in alarm. Just off to the side of the middle of the room, kneeling before a massive, rusted trunk was Mad-Eye Moody himself. The man's unnatural eye was swiveling in its socket, glancing between the trunk and a large, ornate mirror leaning against the wall. The thing the man was holding was what attracted Usopp's attention the most. It seemed to be a clump of hair, with what looked like skin particles still attached. Usopp's eyes widened as _something_ started to reach out of the trunk, in a brief flash of panic he thought it was a claw, but then Moody closed the lid on the thing, latched the lock on the wooden trunk and settled back on his heels.

Usopp's brows drew together in confusion. What could the mad teacher be keeping in an old trunk? Then he realized he'd lingered too long. Mad-Eye Moody's eye had ceased gazing at the mirror against the wall and had spun to look at the door.

Right at Usopp.

A sudden widening of the man's other eye was all the warning he got before Moody whipped out a wand and lurched toward the door.

"What are you doing here? Answer me." Moody's voice was a low, guttural growl that evoked no argument.

Usopp cursed, turned on his heel, and started running. A bolt of violet light sped past him, missing him by a centimeter.

…

Authors Note: Another chapter finished! Soon everyone's going to get to hear from the rest of the Strawhats. :) Oh, and happy holidays everyone! I love this season. I actually got to play chess with my family. That definitely doesn't happen often. Please feel free to leave a review or critique if you want!


	10. Chapter 10

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Okay, I know some of you were content with not mentioning the rest of the Strawhats yet, but I feel that Usopp's shipmates are too important to his character and the plot to ignore completely. Don't worry, though. The story will continue to be Usopp centric. On another note, I will probably finish this… someday, but I'm also working on writing stories I can publish (not that it's going so well), and I'm probably the worst author there is for updating, as I'm sure most of you know, so it is going to take a while. Be prepared. ;)

…

Nami clenched her fists at her side, annoyed that she had to put up with Luffy and Zoro in such a claustrophobic setting. The boys were interrogating a tavern owner, Luffy had even found a bright lamp to shine on the poor man's face, but they weren't getting anywhere at all.

The bar they'd entered was cluttered beyond belief. Barrels of brew were thrown against one wall, some standing on end and some lying empty, while old bottles rolled around under the tables when people kicked them. Another wall had some worn out poster for a play draped over a bulletin board, jutting out from the stone and making it impossible to sit in the corner table. So many chairs filled the room that there was barely any space to stand. Nami could have stood all of that, of course, if not for the fact that there was nothing worth stealing _anywhere_ in the building. The pub's customers were keeping their valuables, what little they had, close by and the beer wasn't good enough to fetch a decent price at market.

Nami's hands itched to do something, anything. But, she knew that pulling a fast one on the villagers would only make her feel a little better. What she really wanted to do was bash some baddy's face in with her Clima-Tact. Well, okay, what she really really wanted to do was send Luffy or Zoro to bash some baddy's face in. _It's been three days Usopp. Where the hell are you?_ Nami sighed and forcibly unclenched her fists before she left nail marks on her palms.

Three days earlier Nami and Robin had noticed that Usopp hadn't come back from selling their goods. Nami hadn't really been worried at first. Usopp sometimes lost track of time while looking at weapons and didn't come back until dark. By the time midnight rolled around, though, everyone was back on the ship but their sharpshooter. The boys, minus Chopper, volunteered to go look for him, but when they returned near dawn, they hadn't seen him anywhere. For two days, the whole crew had searched the town from top to bottom. Even placid Robin was starting to become tense. Nami had ordered the crew to stick together in groups of three. So far, nothing else had gone wrong, but she was feeling pretty edgy. Maybe if she shouted telepathically Usopp would somehow hear it. _You still owe me money Usopp, so you'd better show your face! _Maybe that'd get his ass moving. _Leave it up to Long-nose to make us all worr-_

Nami's head snapped around as Luffy shouted something, abandoned the lamp, and took off out the door. Nami and Zoro ran after him. "Hey, Luffy!" She yelled. "What did I say about sticking together!?"

Luffy stopped dead, leaving a cloud of dust around his sandaled feet from the road. His face looked as serious as it did before a fight. He lifted his straw hat out of his eyes as he spoke. "Nami. Usopp said something before he left the ship. I just remembered! So I think I know where he is."

Nami looked at Luffy in surprise. "Where?"

She watched, a little pit of fear in her stomach, as Luffy's face crumpled in despair. "He said that he didn't get any consider, consive, con, well I don't know what it meant," Luffy's face was getting steadily redder as his voice reached a wail, "but then he said that he'd join the circus!"

With that, Luffy took off down a side street shouting, "You can't join the circus Usopp. We'll miss you!"

Nami wasn't sure whether to smack Luffy or start wailing herself at the stupidity of her captain. Zoro, standing relaxed with a bottle of beer in one hand, just traded a look with her that said she should be used to these things by now. Nami settled on massaging her aching head while, once again, running after her wayward captain.

…

It had taken thirty minutes to convince Luffy that the actor in the town's little theater was not a clown and was not, in fact, Usopp disguised as a clown disguised as an actor. It was a good thing that Robin, Chopper, and Sanji showed up near the end of the little fiasco, and said that they'd found something.

Robin quietly led the group out of the theater door, closing it behind her, and tucked her dark, shoulder-length hair behind her ear. "We found some children who know something about Usopp. They said we might find him at 'the meeting place.' But they did not say what the 'meeting place' was."

Sanji spoke up, "They said that they'd show us the place. I'll lead the way if you'd like me to my beauties." He directed the last portion of the sentence to Nami and Robin with what he seemed to think was a gallant glance. _Gag me._

After turning down a few alleyways, the group stopped in front of a door. The wood was sunken in and looked pretty old. Beside the door were two barrels and a mound of stinking trash. Two kids, a boy and a girl, stepped from behind the pile. The boy looked worried. He wouldn't look up from the ground. The girl looked scared as well, but looked them straight in the eye and said, "It's this way," she turned to Sanji, her mood becoming brighter, "Did you bring some?"

Nami saw Sanji grin out of the corner of her eye. "Of course." He then dumped a handful of candy into the girl's outstretched palms. The girl nearly squealed as she handed half the treats off to the boy. He didn't seem nearly so excited, but pocketed the candy anyway. Then he muttered something in a strange language, a language that sounded kind of familiar, and turned to follow the girl into another alleyway.

They followed the kids for a few minutes before they came to a stop in a dingy, one-way alley with only one doorway and cellar. The girl nodded to the cellar hatch, her pigtails bobbing as she whispered, "Look in there, kay? Thanks for the candy."

Then the two kids took off. Luffy prepared to storm into the cellar in search of their missing teammate, but Robin grabbed him by the arm with one of her extras. Nami caught on. "Luffy, stop charging into things. Have you even noticed?" She pointed at the entrance to the cellar. "Everything else in these alleyways needs a good scrubbing. The hatch _here_ is in good shape. The latch is polished. The wood is new. There's no debris at this end of the lane. I know _you _don't know what caution means, but that doesn't mean we don't. We go in separately, in two groups."

Nami snorted at Luffy's huff of frustration. Then she blinked in surprise as Zoro ignored her orders, unhooked the latch, and casually walked down into the subterranean room beyond. Luffy followed him. _Boys…_

Nami noticed Chopper "hiding" behind one of the nearest barrels, his reindeer fur visibly shivering. _Well, some boys have sense._

Sanji put his hand to his blond head and dramatically shook it. "They should listen to such wonderful angel's advice. Ingrates." He paused. "I'll protect you two ladies with all of my smitten heart."

Robin smiled politely at Sanji, but Nami decided she'd had enough. "Not necessary."

She heard Robin call softly back to Chopper, "We may need a doctor down there. You are the only one who is qualified."

Nami grinned at Robin's diplomacy, ignored Chopper's "outraged" shouts of thanks, and walked in after the rest of her crew.

…

The cellar was pretty bright for being what it was. But even so, the lamps flickered as they came in and left shadowy pools at the corners of the massive room. In most of the room, though, the light shined off dark woods and glittering surfaces. Most of the room seemed to be covered in plush furniture. The chairs and benches were lined with rich fabric. The lights were covered in shades of exotic colors. Even the floor had rugs that were woven with incredible detail. Nami looked around in awe. _I've hit a thief's paradise._ She quickly pocketed a few embroidered handkerchiefs and a jeweled mirror.

Beside her, Chopper shouted, "Wow! It's beautiful."

There were murmured sounds of agreement from everyone else. _I wonder why the rest of the town is so poor when this little area is so extravagant. _Then Robin spoke. "There is something…odd over here."

Luffy was the first to bound over and as Nami followed, she saw what Robin was talking about. In a corner of the room there was a large, blue circular rug resting on the ground. There were no chairs or tables around it. One corner hadn't been straightened out completely and what looked like part of a wooden circle was inlaid into the ground. Surrounding the rug were odd words carved at five axis points on the stone floor. Robin used her extra arms to lift the rest of the rug off the circle. Nami saw Luffy looking at the weird circle in boredom. "A stupid circle won't help us find Usopp!" He huffed and began exploring the rest of the room.

Sanji traced one of the words on the outside of the circle with his finger while Robin flipped through a notebook of other weird runes. Zoro's voice startled them all. "Found something else." He then muttered, "Almost sat on it."

Nami turned around and saw the swordsman holding a book by the edges of its spine. The leather was smooth where it wasn't encrusted with sharp rubies and emeralds. Nami could almost see the beri signs. Robin took the book and began reading. She paused after a few minutes. "This book is in English, one of the lesser known languages, but… Perhaps I am reading it wrong. It seems to be talking about magic."

Luffy and Chopper's excited voices both squealed out, "Magic!?"

Zoro snorted while Sanji lifted a curled eyebrow. Robin ignored the interruption. "Yes. The first few pages are a summary of the tale of how the island's inhabitants came to be here. They wrote that they once belonged to a different world, a world filled with witches and wizards who could do magic. Then a dark wizard, Grindelwald, who wanted to kill "half-bloods" and enslave non-witches, drove them from their homes. It doesn't say what a 'half-blood' is, however." She thoughtfully ran a finger down the page. "They were looking for a way out of their homeland and somehow, it looks as if it was an accident, found ours. However, it seems that a lot of time has gone by since the incident. Apparently, they only recently found a spell to bring them back to their world. Not many of them seem to want to go back now though, if this writing is anything to go by."

Sanji seemed to be shaking his head in exasperation. He spoke, "So, we're stuck in a town full of people who either practice a very different religion, or are nutters. I vote for option B."

Robin frowned down at the book. "It seems that we were mistaken about the townspeople's attitude towards us. Well, at least some of the people… This book shows evidence of a great hatred of pirates." She leaned over to let Nami look as well. The page showed a flag, a flag with the Jolly Roger symbol painted on it, being strangled by a snake in the shape of a noose. "It says here that they send pirates and other vagabonds 'Through the ritual circle and back through the realms to the dangers of the Old World.'"

Zoro looked up at Robin from his seated position on the floor. "Didn't Usopp say something about 'magic' and 'dark wizards?'"

Luffy nodded vigorously. "He did! He was yelling about evil magic in his dream." He stopped talking for a second and his eyebrows drew together, his mouth pulling down into a serious frown. "D'you think someone magicked him to the other world?"

The statement earned a gasp of horror from Chopper, a blank look from Zoro, a thoughtful silence from Robin, and a kick to the head from Sanji. Nami decided that she'd seen enough weirdness to justify magic being real. Luffy continued, "Well, we've gotta save him! As your captain I say we all jump in the circle until it takes us to Usopp!"

_Oh mighty Seakings… _Nami scowled and ran a hand through her orange hair, "We won't do Usopp any good by jumping in magic circles, Luffy. We should figure out how to get back from wherever they sent our sharpshooter before we decide to go in there after him."

Nami turned as Zoro stood up behind her. He drew a sword as he said, reasonably, "Then lets just go ask the townspeople what's going on."

_Hmph, well they might tell us something with Luffy and Zoro breathing down their necks,_ _but I think I have a better-_

Nami didn't get a chance to finish thinking as the door to the cellar opened and let bright daylight into the shadowy corners of the room. The next second a figure blocked out the light and came storming down the stairs. The figure was cast in shadow from the backdrop of light at first, but as it came down Nami noticed that it was wearing some kind of stupid looking robe. The person was followed by two more and as they stopped, about five feet away, she realized that she couldn't see any of their faces.

They all tensed for a fight. Well, everyone except Luffy, who just stood there. Nami hid behind Sanji and quietly reached for her Clima-Tact, taking care not to jingle the rubies she'd jimmied out of the magic book. She watched in silence as the leader of the gang reached inside its robes and pulled out a… stick. _A stick? To each its own I guess…_

Luffy's voice reached her ear just as she grasped her weapon in tightening fingers. "Are you nuns?"

…

Author's Note: Whoot! Writing a chapter with so many different main characters is difficult. You can't include any of them as much as you'd like to and you can't be sure they're all completely in character. Oh well. I tried… Anyway, as you can probably all tell, the time the two worlds move at is completely different once you've jumped between them. Intriguing ne? I'm going to try to write the next chapter, an Usopp-centric one, right away. Please feel free to leave a review or critique if you want!


	11. Chapter 11

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Whohoo! Summer's here! Time to kick back, relax, write, and read more Dresden Files. Seriously, has anyone else read that series? It's awesomely hilarious, sort of like a humorous Harry Potter for adults. I've ordered all of the short stories from the library, but they haven't all come in yet… Anyhow, hope you all enjoy the latest chapter!

…

Usopp had made it back to his room safely after the mad teacher incident, but he couldn't help feeling paranoid. _What kind of teacher leaves_ _a monster in their trunk? For that matter, what kind of teacher leaves a monster that _they don't want anyone to knowabout_ in their trunk?_ He'd heard that the dark arts teacher was new, new and apparently hiding something. That was never a good combination. _Definitely suspicious. I'd better tell someone. _

In the meantime, Usopp was off to tell Harry about the dragons he'd found out about. He wasn't envying _that_ encounter. Poor Harry. _What do you tell someone who's about to face giant lizards with razor sharp teeth and fire breath? _He passed a few intimidating suits of armor and a portrait of a haggard old monk wandering a lonely abbey before coming to the stairs leading to Gryffindor tower. He took a deep breath as he paused by the portrait of the Gryffindor woman. Then he glanced outside. The light peeking in through the nearest window was bright. It lit up the patch of carpet near the tower as if the floor were a star itself. The light of a nice early afternoon. Hopefully, Harry would take the news better in the happy setting.

He gave the portrait the password and then stepped into the common room. He wasn't surprised to see Harry and Hermione studying on the comfortable couches. When Hermione was the only friend around, you tended to hang out with her around books. Usopp stopped in front of one of the couches and watched as a large, orange cat disdainfully moved around his feet as if unhappy with the interruption to the quiet room. "Harry? May I talk to you?"

The boy looked up, lines bunching up together on his forehead, his face already in a dim frown. "Yeah. What is it?"

Usopp scratched one foot with the other and almost lost his balance. "Um, I kind of went snooping around last night. While I was out, I found out what the challenge is going to be."

The grin on Harry's face was the kind of halfhearted one people gave when they didn't truly feel like smiling, but he tried. Usopp suddenly noticed that Hermione's attention was rooted on him. He began to feel as if he was giving a speech. "Well, I found out that you'll be facing dragons." He paused at the odd look he saw cross Hermione's face. She pushed her hair out of her eyes with a thoughtful frown. Usopp started to babble. "Of course, you'll only be facing one and they look a little dangerous, but I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, I faced ten dragons at once last summer and if I can do it then you can too. I'm sure there's some spell somewhere to defeat dragons, right?"

Harry's grin grew more relaxed. He chuckled. "Thanks Usopp. Cedric told me this morning, so Hermione and I 'ave been looking for that spell all day. You want to join us?"

Usopp nodded, though he felt a pang at the words. _Then sneaking out was useless huh? It didn't accomplish anything. _"Sure."

Usopp noticed that Hermione actually smiled at him as he sat down. When she asked him about the dragons her voice held curiosity, but no suspicion.

He sat with the duo the rest of the day. But the mood in the room grew steadily tenser as no solution was found. The closest Usopp came to approaching anything useful was when he found a spell for putting out candles. The closest Harry came was finding a spell for "controlling the temperament of your cat." Usopp left later that night with a heart anchored down in rough seas. It was only after he slowly turned the corner of the fourth hallway that he remembered that he'd forgotten to tell Hermione about the thing in Mad-Eye's trunk. _Damn!_ _The tower's closed now, though. _

Usopp sat down on the floor in frustration. He picked at a spot of the carpet that didn't quite meet the wall and huffed as he thought how complicated his new environment was. _It's no different than the Merry Go_! _Every time I try to help people, I end up being useless and overlooked. I even put off searching for a way home so I could help my new friends! Well, okay, there was no way I was getting into the Restricted Section without Hermione's help, not with all those screaming books, but still… _Several throaty chuckles drifted from the wall across from Usopp and he glared at the things in the portrait making the noise. The "things" turned out to be trolls dressed in traditional ballet gear. Usopp briefly wondered how _they_ had any authority to be laughing at his pain. He got up and started pacing to get away from their ugly faces.

_I just wish there was something I could use to help my nakama. Some way to show them that I can handle anything. Something I could use to show them how much I can help them. There's got to be something, or some way, to make myself useful! Maybe even something that'll help Harry, Hermione, and Ron. There's no way I can just- _Usopp trailed off as he turned around and noticed something a little weird.

There was a door right in the middle of the hallway. A hallway that, until just a second ago, had no doors.

_Okay, lets amend that. A lot weird. _

Usopp cautiously approached it. He reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out his slingshot, readying it with ammunition as he did so. As his hand drew closer to the doorknob, it started to shake a little. _Maybe I shouldn't open mysterious doorways? _Usopp shook off the thought and steadied his hands. If he couldn't even open a silly door then he was never going to be a real part of Luffy's crew. He slowly turned the handle, and then flung open the door so hard it crashed into the wall.

Inside was a small room about the size of a cabin on the Merry Go. It was lit with candelabras made of tarnished silver that threw firelight onto the stone floor. The light also spilled onto a tall pedestal in the middle of the room. The rest of the space remained so dark that the walls were indistinguishable from the shadows. Usopp glanced around, the rubber of his slingshot taut in his hands. A sudden noise, like that of birds taking wing, startled him and he looked up. Far above him, light came down from a stained glass window, set into the ceiling, in faded shades of blue and green. As he watched, a dark spot on the window disappeared with another shuffle of wings. Usopp shook his head and continued on to the middle of the room.

As he walked closer, Usopp could see that there was something on the pedestal. The firelight ran like lava over the thin object, showing the grain of rough, dark wood. Usopp gasped. _It's a wizard's wand!_

The wand looked sturdy, but wasn't as polished as many of the student's wands. The handle seemed to be made of some ebony wood, a wood that shined with a smooth luster. The rest of the wand was rough, the wood dark and blackened in places as if struck by lightening. Usopp hesitated as he looked at it. _What's an old wand doing out here in the middle of an empty room? _He glanced around at the shadows, at the walls he couldn't see. Then, he prodded the wand with his outstretched slingshot. Nothing happened. _Oookay… _Usopp sighed and picked up the old thing with delicate fingers.

This time he felt an odd shiver run over his body. The tip of the wand glowed briefly. Usopp almost dropped the thing out of shock, but managed to hold on to some of his dignity. He wondered if he could use it like Hermione and the others used their wands. It was worth a try anyway. He held the stick out with the tips of his fingers, pointed it at the podium, and did his best Hermione imitation. "Wingardium Leviosa." Even though he put a lot of stress on the "o," nothing seemed to happen. He tried again, putting more stress on the "sa" sound. Nothing still continued to happen. _Maybe I'm too much of a "muggle" to use this thing? _Usopp shrugged a bit. He pocketed the item anyway. Even if the thing proved useless, there was no point in leaving it in a empty room. _I'm sure whoever owns the wand won't miss it, besides Nami would be proud. _Usopp let out a derogatory snort as he left the mysterious room, closing the door firmly behind him. _I've finally found my backbone. Perhaps Hermione will help me practice…? Or maybe not. I'm not exactly allowed to have one of these._

…

Tuesday morning came at full sail and even though Harry had assured both Hermione and he that he was going to be all right, Usopp still felt a little sick at the idea that he and everyone else would have to sit back and watch Harry battle monsters all by himself. Ron still wasn't speaking to Harry on the subject. He didn't even go to the entrants' tent to wish him good luck. He did sit near Usopp and Hermione in the stands though, talking to everyone while chewing on some kind of strange, fizzling, popcorn. He seemed to be watching the arena avidly and started pointing in growing excitement when a team of people began pulling on a set of large chains that had been hidden behind the trees. Usopp noticed that when he saw the size of the chains, though, his excitement morphed into worry. Then an enormous dragon was brought out, its hide gleaming a murky blue-gray in the afternoon light.

Ron's face went so quickly from worry to stark fear that several people near him asked if he was okay. He spoke, his voice squeaky and cracked. "Dragons?! But dragons are… They're…" He couldn't seem to decide what exactly dragons were. "Harry can't…"

His voice had come out quiet even in the relative nervous stillness of the crowd, but Hermione heard it. She looked him in the eye as she spoke, "He'll be okay, Ron. We've practiced many different spells to prepare. He'll be alright."

Hermione's voice featured absolute conviction, but Usopp noticed how tightly her hands clutched the hem of her robes. Ron seemed to notice too. He grimaced and turned his face away from her, staring wide-eyed back at the sinewy lizard gouging up the clearing with its claws. He spoke something again, but the noise was lost as Bagman's voice shouted Cedric Diggory's name to the crowd. Usopp could only make out the word "help."

The three contestants, Cedric and the two from the other schools, somehow managed to evade the dangerous lizards and grab their respective eggs. The crowd that had been so quiet when the dragons were brought out had erupted into cheers for each of them, gasping and shouting when the participants made a daring move or avoided death. Then it was Harry's turn. As the crowd settled down, Usopp discreetly set his hand near his slingshot. _I'm not leaving anything to chance, no matter how much the judges won't like it. _Usopp wasn't surprised to see Hermione doing the same thing; she had her wand on the bench beside her. Hiding the wand from the row behind her was a large cup of pumpkin juice. As he looked back over at Ron, Usopp was gratified to see that he was sitting on the edge of his seat, the tip of his own wand sticking out from under one sleeve. When Harry walked out into the clearing the whole arena went silent. Usopp clearly heard him shout, "Accio Firebolt!" A small murmur started up from Durmstrang's section of the stands. A minute passed. Then two. Usopp actually jumped when Harry's broom came zooming in from around the trees. Hermione and Ron both cheered. The redheaded boy looked rather relieved.

When Harry shot up into the sky, the entire stand went nuts and everyone craned their heads to see what Harry would do. He didn't disappoint. Usopp watched in amazement as the boy dove and spun, evading the dragon's belches of fire by the breadth of a hair, dodging the leaden spikes as they thrashed the earth to ribbons. Bagman's commentary kept them all on edge. He began shouting things like, "Look at that flying ability! He might just make it," "That dragon's going to slice him to shreds!" and "Oh, that was definitely a close one!" Harry kept the dragon occupied by swerving around the massive head, though it didn't seem to be doing much except making the lizard angrier. Usopp's heart rate sped up as the chase went on. _Could he possibly…? _And then Ron's shout of horror brought his attention to the blood suddenly leaking from Harry's arm. The dragon's spiked tail had brushed the boy's limb, tearing flesh and sending Harry veering off-course. Usopp felt Ron, sitting next to him, gasp and almost jump off the seat. Usopp himself was shaking so hard he could barely keep his hand from rattling the ammunition in his pocket. Hermione sat still, perfectly still; she barely seemed to be breathing. They all relaxed when Harry flew out of range.

It took a while for Usopp to realize what Harry's plan was, but once he did, he smiled. The dragon slowly became so distracted by Harry's broom that the boy easily lured the behemoth away from the eggs. After that, Harry swooped down, snatched the golden one, and left the arena in triumph. Beside him, Usopp felt Ron slump down against the bench. The freckled boy looked as if he'd been held up by strings the entire time and was just now being cut off from all support. Usopp sympathized. He wasn't feeling all that steady himself.

Hermione helped them both up and excitedly drew them towards the tent Harry'd been led off to. As they jogged closer, Usopp grinned at Ron's happy chatter. He was going on and on about the match and how "cool" Harry had been and how "dangerous those bloody dragons" were and how he reckoned "someone _must_ be trying to kill Harry!" He ended with, "We have to figure out who put his name in, right 'Mione?" Hermione seemed torn between laughing, crying, and yelling at Ron. She settled on marching into the tent hand in hand with him and practically shoving the boy, who looked sick with guilt, most likely at Harry's imagined reaction, in Harry's face.

Usopp laughed when the two made up. _Good, now Harry has someone else to look out for him. Maybe now that he's safe for a while, and now that Hermione no longer suspects me, I can concentrate on getting home. I might as well try practicing more with the wand too… I wonder if my own nakama will welcome me back like that? _

…

Author's Note: Wow, I got this chapter out fast! Go me! I'm pretty proud of it. Oh, and thank you avatoa for the awesome encouragement! I sometimes need reminders to stop apologizing for things. :) Anyhow, please feel free to leave a review or critique if you want!


	12. Chapter 12

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Thank you loyal reviewers! Without you guys, this story probably wouldn't exist. :)

* Also, thank you soooo much Silverchild of the Winds for the heads up on the mistake I made! I fixed it and now Hermione no longer knows about the Room of Requirement that she shouldn't know about yet. ;) Haha, keeping things accurate is exhausting. *

…

"So," Usopp exclaimed, "Where can I buy one?"

Hermione shook her head at him, explanation-tone already in place. "You can't buy one. They are extremely rare. Harry only has one because someone gave it to him."

Usopp fingered the fabric of the invisibility cloak Hermione had thrown over herself. "It's weird not seeing you while you're right next to me."

Ron, about to mash one of Harry's knights to gravel over the wizard's chessboard, chimed in, "Too right mate. That thing's blasted brilliant. It doesn't block out sound though, so don't trip or anythin'."

Usopp saw Harry grimace at the loss of his chess-piece. Then he turned to Usopp and said, "Yeah, Filch'll be walking around looking for people breaking the rules. Oh, and definitely don't do anything stupid in front of his cat, Mrs. Norris. I'm pretty sure she can sense people even under the cloak."

Usopp nodded. "Thanks for letting me use it."

Ron nodded while Harry simply said, "I owe you one."

_No, you don't._

Hermione threw the other half of the cloak over Usopp. "There," she said, "Now lets get going."

The trip to the library was nerve-wracking. The corridors were so dark Usopp could barely see the stone floor beneath him and the occasional window hung, glowing, like a gateway to the spirit world. Hermione had to constantly look at a yellowing map with her wand light, but the light itself could be seen beyond the cloak. _I hope she's right that that map can see everyone coming towards us._ The cat Harry had warned them about cornered the duo when they had made it about halfway. They'd had to stand completely still for a full minute while the skeletal cat walked around the hallway, staring with creepy, yellow, bulging eyes. The animal only left when a faint thud resounded off the walls of some far-off corridor. After that, the trip was punctuated only by snores from sleeping portraits and Usopp's own paranoid thoughts.

The library was as dark as a tomb. Not that Usopp had ever been in one. Suffice it to say that it was really dark. Usopp and Hermione navigated through the corridors of books and, even though Hermione still had her wand light, there were no windows nearby, so it only lit the area a couple of feet around. Even so, Hermione seemed to find her way fairly well. Soon the duo was standing at the entrance to the restricted section of the Hogwarts Library and listening nervously for approaching teachers. Hermione crossed the entrance cautiously and ran her fingers over the spine of an old book. "Alright. Professor Dumbledore said that there would be one diary containing the subject of your world in the library. The only other book is in Professor Binns' collection and none of us have any idea where that is. I asked several of my teachers about the subject, but they said that they weren't allowed to tell us anything. I think that our best bet is to scan the titles and authors and pick up the texts' that look most likely to help."

"Right." Usopp replied, reaching out to take a book himself.

Hermione grabbed his arm. "There are books here that may do some strange things. Just close the book quickly if one starts screaming or something. Alright?"

Usopp raised his eyebrows as he nodded. _Screaming books? Nice security system. _"Okay."

The time seemed to crawl along at a sea snail's pace while Usopp sat with his back to a sturdy library table, books scattered around him in messy piles. Hermione sat to his right, also leaning her back against a table leg, her books stacked in neat rows at her sides. Text after text had proven a failure and Usopp was frustrated after the first book. He'd picked up _Traversing Worlds_, _How to Exploit New Lands_, and even _What you Should Do Now that You're Tired of Reality_, but none of them had any useful information. The first two had been about different countries on Wizarding Earth, while the last had been some kind of existential philosophy book. One book, however, a book so faded that half the words were illegible, did reference one of the text's they were looking for. Usopp had found it stuck, forgotten, in the corner of the bottom shelf. The lettering seemed to read, "Mo-- -amous Hoax-s of our ----. Paralle- Universes are abundan- -- ---- ---- b- Be--am-n Binns." The title of the book itself, except for the word "Secret," as well as the rest of the article was hidden under what looked like a coffee stain. Usopp sighed. _This will only help if we can somehow get a hold of that History of Magic teacher's book collection. _

The other books he'd picked up hadn't been nearly so helpful. Many of the books in the section didn't have titles and Usopp had picked up several with stains that looked way too much like blood. When he found something dark red in the pages of a book on dried organs, he shivered. _Time for a break. _He was just reaching out to poke Hermione in the arm when she froze, her hands stilling on the edges of a yellowing page. Then Usopp heard it. _Footsteps! _Hermione quietly doused the wand light and waited. In the hall outside a dull _clunk-thump_ repeated itself down the corridor, pausing briefly near the door to the library before continuing down the hall. After three minutes absent of any sound, other than breathing, Hermione whispered, "That was close. I'm not sure if Professor Moody can see through walls, but he can certainly see through a lot of other things. Let's get back to work."

Usopp nodded and opened his book again, but then put it down with a thoughtful frown. "I forgot to say something earlier, with all the researching we did for the first task, but when I snuck out to get a look at the task I saw Mad-Eye doing something weird."

"_Professor Moody_, and Weird how?"

"Well, he was in his office, but he left the door open a bit. I heard sounds in there so I went to go and see and," Usopp noticed Hermione had her nose scrunched up in disapproval, "don't look at me like that, I was seeing if someone was _breaking_ into his office. It was a very brave thing to do. There could have been ninjas."

Hermione just crossed her arms. "Go on."

"Well, when I went to see what was happening I saw Moody messing with something in an old trunk. Whatever it was it had claws. It tried to fight back. Then he turned around, saw me, and attacked me with his wand." Usopp's voice had become a hiss by the end of the sentence as he jabbed a finger in Hermione's face. "He tried to kill me."

Hermione frowned. "I doubt he was trying to kill you, but he has been known to attack people before he asks questions. You're not making that part up about the claws are you?"

Usopp crossed his fingers over his heart. "Swear."

Though she didn't look completely convinced, she didn't argue either. "Well, he could have been practicing some type of spell and just gotten paranoid with you standing there. However, if there is some kind of magical creature in his trunk it should be investigated. No creature should be locked up like that."

Usopp personally thought Hermione had lost the point of the entire conversation. Shaking his head, he pointed out, "We should keep an eye on him."

"Agreed."

Usopp reached out to pull open another book, but then dropped it as a searing blue light hit his eyes. He cursed, rubbed his hands over them, and then looked around himself in awe. Whereas before the library had been pitch black, it was now filled with a grayish-blue, twinkling, light. The light reflected off shelves and chairs and seemed to sparkle on everything it touched. Hermione had stopped reading and was gazing around too. She ran her fingers through the light and gasped at the brilliance with which they glowed. She whispered something Usopp couldn't hear, but he didn't wait to ask what it was. He could hear footsteps echoing off the corridor outside, pounding footsteps.

He shut the book. "Hermione, we have to go!"

Her eyes widened in fright. She pulled the invisibility cloak over them both and skirted to the opposite wall just as the library doors opened. Then the greasy haired Potions teacher entered the library. The man looked incredibly pissed. It took a while, and a few very close calls, before Usopp and Hermione could slink past the prowling teacher and leave the room.

Once outside, and four corridors away from danger, the duo stopped to breathe and assess their surroundings. Hermione shook her head as she adjusted something in her arm. "Let me get the map out."

Usopp nodded. Then he took a closer look at the thing Hermione had in her arms. "You stole the book?"

The girl stilled. In the wand light Usopp could see that her face was turning a bit red. She replied, "Yes."

Usopp studied the girl. She was clutching the book to her chest and refusing to look at him. He grinned. "You're going to show it to Ron aren't you?"

She huffed. "Of course not! I simply wanted to study the magic required to make such a display. I know it can't be a simple Lumos spell, but it must be some kind of variation of it…"

"It's okay. I'd love to show it to Kaya too."

…

Usopp woke up at 3:30 in the morning, lathered in cold sweat, despite the late night in the library. Trying to remember what he'd been dreaming about only gave him a vague sense of fear, and he wasn't really tired, so he decided to get up. He pulled on some of the borrowed clothing Professor McGonagall had given him, pants, a sweatshirt, and shoes, and washed his face in the little bathroom connected to his bedroom. Then he took out his new wand, collapsed onto the large bed, and held the object up to the lamplight. He frowned. _This place is starting to become… comfortable. The magic, the classes, the people, they're all rather fun. I'm almost not sure if I want to go back… It'd be different if I _knew_ that my nakama didn't need me. But, I can't be sure what was going on the day that I left. Maybe I just misinterpreted everything? _Usopp shifted to sit with his back against the headboard. He let his hands dangle over the edge of the bed while he stared at the sea blue walls. _The people here leave me out of things because I'm an outsider, not because I'm weak. I'm not sure which is worse. At least outsiders can become friends if they stick around long enough. Harry, Ron, and Hermione even seem to trust me a little bit now. I'm not sure I can ever become as strong as my nakama though. It may be impossible. Will I always be the weakling to them? _A horrible thought struck him. _What if more people join the crew, and they're all strong like Luffy? He could probably find better sharpshooters pretty easily on the Grand Line. _

The thought of sharp shooting had Usopp rubbing his head at the approach of an oncoming headache. _Of course, I can't fulfill my dream if I stay here… I guess I should try my hardest to get back home, and if it turns out that the crew no longer needs me than I'll find my own way to become the best pirate sharpshooter on the Grand Line. _

Usopp twirled the blackened wand around his fingers. _The first step to becoming stronger is to practice. Once I get the hang of it I can start attending classes other than Transfiguration,_ which he'd only attended in return for the clothes,_ Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures. I can start writing down the pronunciation of spells and practice them where no one else can see me. _

Usopp decided to work on the "Wingardium Leviosa" spell he'd been trying to master ever since he'd obtained the wand. Then he took out his wand, spoke the words, and pointed the stick at the small blue pillow sitting on the dresser. It flew halfway across the room before dropping to the floor. The second try yielded better results and the pillow landed on the edge of the bed. Though the third and fourth tries didn't produce any different outcome, Usopp kept practicing for two hours. Within the last half-hour, he performed the charm nearly perfectly. Nevertheless, he was breathing hard by the end of it. A migraine was making its way into consciousness and he was becoming exhausted. _I could never use a wand each class like the students here do. I don't know how they hide the weariness. Oh well. It's better than my first days of trying. I could only practice twenty minutes before I became too tired to continue. _

_Well, I'll try something else I think… _He reached under his mattress and pulled out a book of spells another student had dropped in the corridor a while back. It wasn't a classroom book, it had a library sticker in it, and so Usopp had felt safe borrowing it. He flipped through the book for another useful spell. He came across one in the middle of the text. "Expulso: Pronounced 'eks-POOL-soh'. Causes an object to explode. This could definitely come in handy."

Usopp searched the room for something to practice on without making a huge mess, but couldn't find anything he wouldn't miss if he made it explode. Glancing out the window, he could see faint daylight peeking through the panes. _No one else should be up yet. I can try it out near the forest. _

By the time he slid the massive front doors open and headed down the gravel path to the forest the sky was hosting a corona of brilliant yellows and oranges that could just barely be seen over the tops of the trees. Usopp didn't stop to admire the sight long. He walked into the very edge of the forest, where he could still see the stone castle in between the rough white bark of the trees. Then he picked a spot with an abundance of targets such as rocks, leaves, and sticks, and set to work. He practiced flourishing the wand for a while, apparently it had to be done in a certain way, but then let loose slinging the spell for all he was worth. His first attempts, however, proved ineffective. Leaves smoldered a bit, rocks shook a little, and sticks snapped in half, but no explosions occurred. Even so, he felt drained after his first couple of tries. Leaning against a tree gave him respite for a few minutes. However, once he got up he felt about as rested as someone on lookout duty. He plucked his wand from the ground beside him, spoke the word, "Expulso," and prepared for another failure when he heard a crunch from behind him.

"You're not supposed to have a wand! Where'd you get it? And why are you practicing an exploding spell?"

Usopp turned around to find Ron pointing his own wand at him. His head began to pound. The boy was standing in front of Hermione and Harry as if to protect them from harm and his freckles were standing out starkly against his skin. He spoke again, anger coating his tone, his knuckles red and white against his weapon. "I should've known you weren't trustworthy! You only pretended to help Harry so that you could get closer to him and use dark magic to kill him off, right? Or distract him from the tasks? Well, we're not going to let ya, mate."

Hermione stepped out from behind Ron, her face a complete blank. "Ronald, that's enough. We don't know what's going on here. What we do know, however, is that Usopp is deliberately breaking his decree with the Headmaster, who should be informed of such things as soon as possible." She turned to face Usopp, but her voice stayed dull, as if she was reciting the properties of a correctly made potion. "We also know that you've been toting weapons since you arrived here. I'm sure your motives are benign-"

Usopp interrupted her. "Of course they are! I _found_ the wand. I didn't think anyone would miss it."

Harry shot him a slightly incredulous look, but seemed, along with Hermione, to be reserving judgment until later. Ron, however, seemed livid. "Bollocks! You can't just _find_ a wand lying 'round."

"Ronald, language!"

Shaking his head in slight disbelief, Usopp replied, "So what if I found one? What's wrong with that? I was going to tell you sooner or later."

Harry chimed in, looking distinctly unhappy about the situation. "It's not just the wand. The spell you were just practicing is used by a lot of bad people, Death Eaters mostly. It's not Unforgivable or anything but…"

Harry didn't seem to know how to continue so the bushy-haired girl picked up the pace, suddenly looking rather interested. "Well, it doesn't matter right now. I'd like to know where you found the wand."

Usopp told her, but noticed how the girl's interested look became rather inscrutable. "A room that just appeared out of nowhere?"

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe?" All of the arguing he was doing was worsening the migraine he'd had for the past hour. No one else seemed to notice how much his hands and knees were shaking from fatigue, though. He tried to make sure they didn't.

Usopp was just beginning to realize how much of a mistake he'd just made. _Of course, no one will believe me. Wands are weapons. Powerful ones at that. I suppose it's kind of like acquiring a gun, not knowing how to use one, and then pointing it near your classmates with the safety off. Damn. I didn't think I could lose their trust so fast. _

…

Author's Note: So things are back to square one for poor Usopp. Oh well, he'll get through it. On another note: I've finally finished the complete outline for this story! I had most of an outline but decided to leave the ending open until I knew where the story was truly going. (And until I could come up with a good enough ending…) It could still change, but I think this story will have some pretty cool twists and turns. :) Well, please feel free to leave a review or critique if you want!


	13. Chapter 13

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Ummmm, long time no see... O.o

…

The walk to the Headmaster's office was a long one. Usopp's legs had refused to stop shaking and his headache was pounding his cranium with a vengeance. By the time they reached a stone Gargoyle, apparently their stop, Usopp was thoroughly tired of Hogwarts. He watched with disinterest as Hermione spoke the password. He didn't flinch as Ron tried to glare him into submission. He didn't even react much when he saw a large, red and gold bird, like nothing he'd ever seen before, perched on the back of the Headmaster's chair.

Professor Dumbledore, dressed in bright red robes with stylized fire on the edges, shot them happy looks as he conjured a few extra chairs into the small room. Usopp sank into his with relief. His headache lessened a bit. Both Ron and Harry, however, sat on the edge of their chairs.

Ron looked ready to pull his wand out at a moment's notice. Only Hermione seemed calm. Once Usopp had settled down, he noticed the other occupant of the room. Professor McGonagall stood next to the Headmaster, one hand on his chair and her stern face set into an expression of surprise. She glanced from Dumbledore to them, and made a move as if to leave. The Headmaster stopped her. He folded his hands and studied them all a moment, his smile gone. "Hmm, it seems that there is a problem here. What has happened?"

Ron tried to speak up before Hermione butted him with her elbow. She spoke. "Headmaster, Professor." she paused and nodded at Professor McGonagall before turning back. "Headmaster, you told us to report to you if Usopp displayed behavior that could be dangerous to the school or its students. Well... we found that Usopp has acquired a wand. He was practicing with it," she faltered, played with the hem of her sleeve, and then forged on. "Using the Expulso spell, when we interrupted him."

Usopp stared down at the ground and tried not to care that the Headmaster was looking at him. He could see the edge of a disappointed frown on the man's face. Usopp stared at the carpet and dangled the blackened wand in his hand. The professor sighed and held out his hand to confiscate the weapon. "Where exactly did you find this wand?"

Usopp handed the item over quickly, but hesitated over what to say. Even for Hogwarts, the excuse, "I found it in a room no one but me seems to know about," sounded lame. He decided to start with explaining himself. "I didn't take the wand to hurt anyone, especially not Hermione, Harry, or Ron. I took it because-" The Headmaster interrupted. He set a bulky thing, like a glass top, down on the desk. It stayed perfectly balanced, though it looked top-heavy.

"I think it may be best if I use a Sneakoscope for this conversation. I've had it tuned to just this room and just the things said aloud, and I think it more fair than Veritaserum. I am very sorry m'boy. Times are becoming difficult indeed."

Professor McGonagall shook her head, though she averted her eyes. "I think it necessary, Albus."

The Headmaster smiled kindly, "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley. It would be a help if you could stay silent for the duration. Please," he gestured to Usopp, "begin again."

Usopp repeated what he'd already said. He tried to maintain eye contact with the Headmaster, but every time someone shifted or a sound came from outside, birds and Quidditch students seemed especially lively today, he felt himself looking down and trying to become invisible. He began, "I took it because I thought it would be useful. That maybe I could help people with it. I, I didn't think about it's use as a weapon, sir. Only it's use as a tool. I thought I could be more helpful if I mastered it and it...it looked fun."

The Professor nodded, and then glanced at the glass top. He nodded again. "And where did you happen to find the wand?"

Usopp shifted. "I found it on the seventh floor. In a room that, uh, was opposite a picture of some trolls. The room had a podium in it. The wand was there. It didn't seem like anyone's property."

The Headmaster frowned and stroked a hand through his beard. He glanced back at the Sneakoscope. Usopp noticed that the old man's face took on a puzzled cast after glancing at the object. Usopp wondered what it was supposed to do. "I have been there a few times but have never seen a room that matches that description."

Professor McGonagall simply shook her head. Her accent thickened as she stated, "There is no room in that corridor. I'm quite sure of it."

Shuddering, Usopp lifted one heavy arm to run it through his hair. His fingers almost became tangled in the straps of his goggles. _I know there was a room there! This is their castle. Shouldn't they know it too? _Harry and Hermione were looking at each other. They seemed to be saying something, Usopp couldn't tell what, but they weren't speaking anything out loud. Ron, though, huffed and nodded in a justified way, like Usopp had just been named Public Enemy Number One and he'd known it from the beginning. Usopp wondered when Hermione was going to mention his slingshot. When she'd leave him with nothing at all to protect himself with. He needed to demonstrate that he wasn't lying. He needed to... "I can show you," he blurted out. "I didn't see it at first either."

It took him a second to lever himself out of the chair, especially because he didn't want anyone to see that he felt like passing out. Hermione seemed to think his jerky movements were stress related, and averted her eyes. Everyone else was too busy talking about the current goings on to notice his lack of coordination. Thankfully, walking actually helped, and by the time they'd made it to the seventh floor Usopp was feeling better. Unfortunately, feeling better meant Usopp was also thinking about what was going to happen to him, which fueled his headache, gave him the jitters, and made him feel worse again. _I just can't win. _It was when he stepped up opposite to the troll painting, and still couldn't see any door, that he started getting very nervous. _I wonder what they do to juvenile offenders here? _

Once Usopp pointed out the wall, the Headmaster wasted no time searching it. He tried spell after spell, while Professor McGonagall tried her own series of incantations on it. Nothing budged. No door appeared. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had followed them up the corridors and were sitting beneath the gaudy trolls, watching. For a second, Usopp snidely felt like asking them if they wanted popcorn to go with their morning entertainment, but he stopped himself. He could understand why they'd turned him in.

It didn't mean he had to like it, but he understood it.

After five full minutes of waiting on the very railing, just watching for the anchor to drop and sink him, Professor Dumbledore turned back to him. The man spoke. His voice was apologetic. "I'm afraid we haven't found any evidence of a door here. I'm sure you know how important this is, so I'm going to ask you, what, exactly, you were doing when you found the room."

"Well, um..." Usopp put his trembling hands behind his back. "I remember sitting down by this wall," he indicated the wall across from the trolls who were now doing some strange version of _Swan Lake_. "And I got up and paced a little. When I turned back around, there was a door there."

Ron snorted and lowered his voice to a whisper. Usopp though, could hear the word "barmy" in whatever he said. Hermione shushed him.

Professor McGonagall seemed dubious too, but the Headmaster rubbed a cloth over his half-moon glasses. There was suddenly a gleam to his eyes that Usopp hadn't seen before. He spoke again, almost to himself, "Ah, pacing. That reminds me—" He cut himself off. "What exactly were you thinking as you did this?"

"Thinking?" Usopp felt his face flush red. The bridge of his nose burned in embarrassment, but he knew there was no getting out of telling the truth, not if he wanted to stay out of a possible jail cell. "I was...I thought it was useless. My being here. I wished there was some way to help my friends back home. Some way to do something besides sit around, ya know?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly at him. Usopp carefully didn't look back at the others, not wanting to see the clear suspicion he knew he'd get. Then Professor McGonagall surprised him. She was gazing at Professor Dumbledore, but she said, "Could you try it again? Try doing everything exactly as you did it then."

Her stern face was tempered with excitement. So, resolve hardened, Usopp nervously motioned the trio out of his way and sat down again. He tried to bring his previous thoughts to the forefront of his mind. He blocked out the peeling, rough carpet under his hands and the confused glances of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He brought back the feelings he'd tried to suppress all year. They were easy in coming. Then he paced a couple of times across the corridor. On his final turn, all the air rushed out of him.

The door was back!

Inside, underneath the blue-green light of stained glass, lay a heavy-duty slingshot and a couple of metal pellets. Usopp wondered if the room somehow knew that coming up with another wand was a bad idea. Then again, maybe his thoughts had simply been a little different the second time around. It took awhile for everyone to calm down and finish examining every detail of the room. It took even longer for them to stop coming up with ideas for new rooms, because every time someone came up with one, it appeared in just as much detail as the one Usopp had originally found. By the afternoon, Usopp had been allowed to walk free. However, the professors' had given him stern warnings about his behavior. Professor Dumbledore had taken him aside and told him in no uncertain terms that calling up any wand or weapon was forbidden. He also kept the blackened wand Usopp had been practicing with. The professors' had made sure to stop exploring rooms when classes got out, so no one else had noticed the new discovery. They stayed behind while Usopp and the trio started the walk back to their dorms.

The silence was almost frosty. Ron glared at him and muttered things under his breath, more fervent about protecting his friend than he'd probably been before he'd abandoned Harry himself. Hermione wouldn't even look at him, but she was really careful to walk behind him. Even Harry, whose mind was probably revolving around the imminent Second Task as well as everything else, seemed wary of talking with him. Finding that the room was real didn't seem to have helped Usopp's case at all. _Yeah, they probably don't like the fact that I had knowledge their professors' didn't. I don't blame them, I guess. Still..._By the time the others split off for the classes they hadn't already missed, Usopp was exhausted. They hadn't insisted he go with them, which meant they were going to be discussing him and didn't want him nearby to hear it. There were still hours left in the day, but he decided he'd head back to his own room. The faint nausea roiling in the acid of his stomach and another migraine behind his eyes told him bed was a good idea. He rubbed his eyelids as he came closer to his own room, but stopped still when he heard voices coming his way from the corridor ahead. One was raised in anger and had an oily, thick accent to it. The other was softer, even with the deep voice of the speaker. Usopp casually dropped his bag and pretended to have an enormous need to rifle frantically through his stuff. He tried not to look obvious as he put his ear to the wall.

The oily voice said, "I cannot believe I'm just hearing about this! This is an out-rage," the "r" was hissed out in an explosion of soft fury. "Just wait until the judges, no our minister himself, gets a hold of this—"

The deeper voice spoke up, and the footsteps approaching Usopp got louder. "I'm sure it's not—"

"Oh, it is! It is! There have been rumors apparently. For a while, there have been rumors among the little Hogwarts brats that the new 'student' is here for the task. But if I wouldn't have spoken with that Goyle child I'd have never known! That Dumbledore has kept this a secret is beyond the pale. It's outrageous."

"Did you get a description, then?" The other voice asked quietly.

"No, Viktor. Unfortunately, the little snitch wasn't of the intelligent type. Couldn't remember his own class schedule. Lost in his own school. _I_ had to show him the entrance to the grounds!" The man made an odd, satisfied cough in the back of his throat. "It just goes to show...But I'll get it. From someone else if need be, I'll get it. The tournament should have been held at my school in the first place."

"But what if it is just a new student?" The voice got softer and muttered, the huskiness of it making it barely intelligible, something that sounded like, "we get them sometimes too."

Usopp fumbled with the strap of his bag as the painting across from him, of an old woman in some Victorian wig, began glaring at him in suspicion. The voices had stopped their conversation for a second and Usopp wasn't grateful. Now, he could hear his heart pounding. _They're talking about me! If they kick me out of Hogwarts I'll have nowhere to go. No way to get home. _The sound of footsteps had halted too. They started up again just as Usopp resolved to interrupt them and get back to his own corridor.

"No, some new 'student' just _happens_ to apply at _this_ time? No, no, no. It's too much of a coincidence. There is no student. There's only a spy or an English ministry puppet. Someone's been put on the inside to influence this tournament. We'll never find whether the ministry did it of course, the damn nationalists, but at the very least they'll throw their inside man into Azkaban for getting caught and it'll be one more" Just as the man was getting going, Usopp noticed the Victorian woman's mouth slowly open, poised on the edge of a questioning shout. He stepped around the corner before she could alert the two speakers.

The people, Professor Karkaroff and, if Usopp remembered rightly, Durmstrang's champion, Viktor Krum, jumped as they saw him. Karkaroff narrowed his eyes at him in anger, while Krum shot him a half-hearted nod. Usopp passed them and tried not to shake too much as their last words hit home. _Prison. Azkaban's gotta be a prison. And since I'm not a ministry spy, there's only one other conclusion people will come to if word gets out. _

_That I'm here to hurt Harry. _

_Crap._

Usopp's fingers itched to snatch off his goggles, knowing that they made him stand out too much. He didn't, though. He could feel the silver-haired man's eyes on his back.

They were studying him.

Usopp awoke to a harsh pounding on his door. He remembered making his way back to his dorm, but he wondered when he'd passed out.

...

Author's Note: Hello everyone (people that are still reading this anyway)! I'm trying to add more tension and danger to the story.

Oh, but I also have a question for everyone. Would it be awful of me to include a more playful chapter, perhaps with Fred and George, after this one? I already have the "next" chapter (on the Second Task, and I think it's really good) written and ready to go, but the story may be getting too serious (even without enough danger in it). So, I'd really like everyone's input. :) Also, tell me if the story is working so far, k? Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Hello again. I just got back from Harry Potter land! I picked up a chocolate frog and Sirius Black's wand. It was Amazingly Awesome!

Note: I couldn't find where, exactly, the Slytherin common room is located within the castle walls, so I improvised on the imagery.

Another Note: Don't try any of these pranks at home! Fred and George are professionals. Plus, it would seriously be dangerous. Ye've been warned. ;)

**...**

Standing outside, a few days later, Usopp crossed his arms and sighed. He and the trio were all attending Care of Magical Creatures, but the Blast-Ended Skrewts they were supposed to be taking care of weren't the most hospitable of animals. Usopp, Hermione, and Harry were all in a group, but none of them had dared touch the Skrewt in the pen in front of them. To make Hagrid happy they all pretended to put their hands in the pen and coo at the nasty thing. The creature was apparently much larger than it had started out as and was sporting a wicked stinger angled up over its back. It had tough gray scales like armor plates. It also occasionally shot fire out of its rear end. _Lovely. _Making the giant man happy was really important to the others, so Usopp reluctantly played along and hoped he kept all his fingers by the end of the lesson.

He was so absorbed with trying not to be in the way of the animal's fiery farts, that he almost didn't notice Hagrid come up to them. The bearded man crinkled his eyes as he looked at the others, and spoke to them, asking how they liked the class so far and stating that he just _knew_ that Harry would win the tournament, and that he'd learned about Hermione's progress in her classes and that he was proud of her. Usopp smiled to hear it. The man, despite being the size of a small giant, was more like a big, shaggy teddy bear than anything. Usopp had stopped being afraid of the man after only a few classes. In fact, after thinking about it, he realized that Hagrid actually reminded him of Chopper. Well, Chopper in his Heavy Point Form, anyway. _There are some people out there that are just nice, no matter how scary they look. _A wave of homesickness swept through him. Then Hagrid came over to him and clapped an enormous hand on his shoulder. Usopp tried not to stumble. "How are you gettin' on?" Hagrid asked.

Usopp shrugged, "Oh. Pretty well."

Hagrid shook his head at him, "Well, you tell me if you need anythin', alright? Any friend of them lots" as he indicated Harry and the others, Usopp inwardly cringed, "is a friend of mine too. An' you don't worry about that wand thing, alright. Everybody makes mistakes." As he said the last part, an unreadable look passed across his face, before he smiled at Usopp and left.

The words resonated in his brain for a while before he let them sink in. But when they did, Usopp felt a kind of warmth spread through him that he hadn't felt in a while.

With that feeling came a resolution. It swept through him, almost seeming to light his veins on fire. He felt himself stand taller. _I've stood back and let things happen for too long. Its gotten me nowhere. The wand thing backfired yeah, but nobody would want a crewmember who just sulked all the time. Or one who just accepts his fate. I've gotta start taking back control. If I'm going to be a captain I can't let anyone, not even those who mean well, make my decisions for me. _

Usopp glanced back at Hermione, Harry, and Ron. They were all occupied with talking to Hagrid. The class was winding down. He needed to be able to practice leaving the trio's presence, but still have an alibi for where he'd gone and what he'd done. _I'm _not_ a prisoner._ _They need to see that they can trust me. I also need to have some damn fun. Oookay, that last thought's a little more persuasive than the first two..._

Usopp smiled as he noticed Fred and George walking by. He slunk off to meet them.

George, indicated by a large G on his sweater, waved at him as he came up. "Heya! I knew you'd eventually come around."

Fred said, "Fred and I are pained that you haven't come to see us in a while." He ended by dramatically putting a hand over his heart. He crumpled up his face in false agony. It sprung back to its normal mischievous look almost immediately. "So, care to try one of our products? Need a hex or a fake wand? In fact," he waggled his eyebrows, "you'd make a great beta tester. All you'd have to do is sign this form—"

George interrupted, "All the firsties are getting too scared, and after only one mistake," he sighed.

Fred continued. "We test them on ourselves first, so it's no great risk really. All you have to do is—"

"Sign this form." George finished, almost in a sing-song way.

Usopp laughed. "No thanks. I've heard what your testers go through. I'm not really partial to puking or nosebleeds." He waited for the twins to gain disappointed looks before he continued, "But I _would_ be willing to help you find other victims."

"Ahhhh, we like your way of thinking," they both drawled, twin grins spreading across their faces.

Just then, someone else walked up to them. Usopp turned around to see that it was Neville. The boy looked like his toad had just been run over by a truck. Neville nodded at them before slowly asking, "What are you lot up to?"

Fred and George didn't miss an opportunity to try to hand out free samples, but after the boy reluctantly pocketed the products, Usopp had an idea. Neville had been paired with Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl, all day, and her taunts had become more vicious the longer it went on. By the end of the day, Neville seemed more morose than usual. Maybe Usopp could cheer him up. "Hey Neville. We're going to go prank some people. Want to come?"

Fred and George both glanced at each other. They looked uncertain. Neville however, brightened. "Sure," he said. "That'd be..." Then he paused. "We...We won't get into trouble though right?"

Fred's eyebrows rose. Usopp smiled and poked Neville in the shoulder, "Not if we run really fast. It'll be fun."

Neville's brown eyes gained a determined sheen, "All right. I can cause mischief." As they began to walk off Usopp heard him whispering, over and over, "I can, I can."

Right before they turned the corner into the courtyard, Usopp whipped around and called out, "Hey, Harry, Hermione, Ron! I'm going with them, okay? See you at dinner!"

Their shocked faces made his day.

After eluding the trio, they all walked down the main hallway and debated what to do. Fred wanted to prank the entire Great Hall. His face went slack and misty as he thought about it. George rolled his eyes at the idea. "We don't have enough products to do that! If we ever do that, we do it so it'll be talked about for years."

Neville wanted a smaller target audience. "That way, we can get away from them easier," he said.

"Well, maybe we could pull something on just one house," Fred conceded.

Usopp rubbed his hands together, imitating a maniacal mad scientist. "Oooor," he held out the note, "we could prank some of the Slytherins' and Gryffindors'. Y'know. Just to be fair and all."

George abruptly changed direction. He started heading toward the grand staircases. "Well, if we're going to do that, we need supplies—"

"Good supplies—" Fred said.

"Like Fireworks." Said George.

"We'll also need to inform Lee," Fred announced. He glanced at his twin in a meaningful way.

Usopp split off for his own room, "I'm getting something too." They looked at him curiously, but he didn't explain.

Once everybody was prepared, they went down to the dungeons and settled right outside the dead-end corridor to the Slytherin common room. The lights there were dim and a greenish, spooky color. A couple of alcoves held rusting suits of armor with wickedly sharp weapons. Usopp, Neville, and Fred hid behind the armor, though the foul-mouthed things had to be silenced with a spell from George. George himself stood on his tiptoes at the corner of the wall and peeked over the side to see if anyone was coming. A few minutes went by. Then a few more. After a while, however, part of the lunch crowd showed up, and George gave them all a thumbs up before rushing back to his own spot.

"Okay," he cautioned. He was as serious as if he was directing a battle, "This is it troops. We throw it all at them, make a lot of noise, and then leave before anyone shows. Any questions?"

George didn't give anyone a chance to answer him as he said, "Now quiet."

Neville's knees were quaking, but the others seemed to take it for excitement rather than what Usopp suspected it actually was. Fred and George had commandeered the armor farthest from the corridor's opening and were holding out little bundles of sticks. Neville was positioned nearest their escape route and was holding only his wand. Usopp himself tried not to fidget next to the axe the armor nearest him was holding. It looked like it had been sharpened recently.

Silence reigned for a few seconds before the students showed up. Usopp caught a glimpse of students in Slytherin robes. He thought he recognized Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, and oddly enough, Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw, before George stepped out of his hiding place and called out, "Aim and fire!"

Bam! Usopp's smoke bomb and some firecrackers exploded out into the corridor, spewing a pale gas and flashing lightening all over the place. The firecrackers themselves let out some kind of steam that made the eyes water, so combined, it was pretty difficult to see anything but vague colors. Some students covered their mouths and coughed, while others glared in fury. Many were dodging spelled firecrackers that followed on their heels, lightly stinging them every time they moved. All of them were shouting insults at George, but they clearly weren't sure which twin had pranked them, so many called out both names for good measure. Some even started screaming at the entire Weasley family. Others limited themselves to, "You dirty Gryffindors'!" or "You'll be expelled for this!" Luna had found a way out of the mess, and was smiling in a partly amused, dreamy way as she tried to dispel the firecrackers.

Malfoy, unlike most everyone else, didn't seem to have seen George. He was shouting, "We're being attacked! Call the ministry! Call my father! Ow! Ow, ow!" His voice was quickly climbing into the region only dogs could hear. It squeaked every so often. He kept it up until he realized Pansy was shooting disgusted glances his way. Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem to know what had happened either. They were pointing and mumbling insults at Luna under their breaths.

Just as the smoke bomb was wearing off, and just as Malfoy and his cronies were discovering their mistake, Neville got into the game and pointed his wand. He mumbled something that was lost in the wake of Draco Malfoy's enraged shouting. A sharp popping sound rang out. Purple light seemed to drip from Neville's wand.

The purple light turned itself into glitter.

Glitter that swiftly appeared over the entire room, covering the students in gold and red sparkles. The Slytherins' shook themselves off in hatred. More than one was scowling. More than one also had glitter tickling their nose and falling from their hair into their eyes. Many were sneezing out clouds of red and gold. Malfoy and Crabbe were actually shaking their fists, which really didn't do anything but get sparkly stuff on their shoes and stuck in the hems of their robes. Luna Lovegood, contrary to everyone else, was softly dancing in the chaos.

A teacher's voice echoed faintly down the corridor's ahead. Usopp could hear an exasperated, "What is going on?"

Before someone could get a good look at anyone but George, the pranksters began running. Usopp looked back before they turned the corner. A couple of curses flew their way and hit the wall behind them. One began to eat through the paint like it was an acid. Usopp shivered and was glad he'd missed that one. He was gratified, though, to see that at least two Slytherin's, a dark-skinned boy and a scrawny boy he didn't know, were grinning and giving them the thumbs up. The scrawny one was hunched over, drawing a rude picture on the glitter that had fallen to the ground. _Good to know that some of them appreciate fun._

He turned back around and ducked, along with the others, into another hallway. They could hear someone approaching, Professor Snape by the sound of it.

Neville's face flushed with pride. "Oh gosh. That was, that was so...Cool!" He paled a little as the voice got closer, "Now what?"

Both Fred and George were stealthily making their way through the hallway proper. Fred shushed Neville and motioned for him to hurry. He whispered, "That glitter thing was right clever mate!"

Fred chimed in, "Really clever!" He lowered his voice, "they'll be remembering that one for a while. That stuff isn't easy to clean off. We've gotta admit—"

"We underestimated you!" They finished.

Neville blushed and stammered "thanks." Fred went on to say, "I know of a shortcut to the kitchens, we can't get there from here, but we've got to hurry."

"Why? Why the kitchens?" Neville asked.

George answered, "Because they've got a visual on my face," he grinned in a half maniacal way, "So they'll be looking for us!"

Neville squeaked, "But that doesn't answer anything!"

Fred motioned them up the stairs to the first floor and off down a side corridor. Behind them, the professor's shouts became fainter. They stayed silent and tried to look natural until they were out of sight of everyone. Once down a somewhat deserted hallway, Fred shot a sideways glance at George, before nodding at Neville and Usopp. "He didn't want any truly nasty curses coming our way. Wish you would have told me you'd do that, though, brother o' mine. I would have prepared a better alibi. Jordan can only do so much."

Usopp thought about the prankster's words. _Neville's full of surprises, but he might have freaked if one of the Slytherin's sent a darker curse, because of being too panicked. Come to think of it, _I_ might have freaked too..._

George shrugged and his grin widened, "Spur of the moment thing. 'Sides, it adds to the excitement, right?"

Neville interrupted in a whisper, "But why are we going to the kitchens?"

The twins both spoke, "To pull our other prank of course!"

By that time, they were all standing in front of large picture. In it were some sinister looking wizards surrounding an empty cauldron and chanting in rhymes. One of them asked, "The ingredients that are needed?"

Fred answered, "Eye of Kneazle,"

George said, "tongue of bat,"

"clippings of hair,"

"from a thieving rat,"

Fred let out a wicked grin, "knickers of Angelina,"

"or the toe-fungus of a ballerina," George glared at his brother.

Fred went on, "We won't tell anyone new,"

"this month,"

Fred opened his mouth, then closed it again. "What rhymes with month?" He hissed.

George shrugged, "that's your job." The wizard in the painting began tapping his foot. Usopp, mystified, suggested "oomph, maybe?"

"Right," Fred continued. "And for this to work, we'll need a little...oomph?"

The man in the painting was disapproving. He sniffed, "Bring a Ravenclaw next time." But the portrait opened.

It took a few more corridors to make it to the kitchens, but they managed it. Usopp wasn't sure what it was the twins asked the house-elves to put into the Gryffindors' food, but he was glad _he _wasn't going to eat it. He took a bite of his sandwich and laughed. _I wish I'd thought of this earlier._

**...**

As soon as they got to dinner, Harry and the others abandoned their food and surrounded him. Hermione's voice was barely contained, "Where have you been?"

"Relax, little friend of ickle Ronniekins," Fred said, "He's been with us—"

"Learning the ways of the pranking kings—"

"Not that any can hope to match up to our greatness—" George said.

"But, alas. Many try..." Fred waved his hand in a vaguely Shakespearean way.

Neville tried to look at the staff table without showing it, "Do they know?"

Ron immediately looked suspicious, "Know what?"

Fred and George poked him. "Quiet brother. Yup. Looks like McGonagall's suspicious of us at least."

Usopp looked. The older witch had on a face like she'd swallowed a whole lemon. Professor Snape seemed likely to kill them within the hour. They were talking to each other in low voices and, unfortunately, pointing at the Gryffindor table. The other teachers were chatting excitedly. Usopp could hear the occasional phrase, "stinging firecrackers," "Gryffindor colored glitter," and "smoke everywhere," echoed around the staff table. Professor Dumbledore alone seemed unconcerned. He'd popped a couple of candies in his mouth and was excusing himself from speaking. He seemed amused, though, for which Usopp was grateful.

Usopp asked, "What did this Jordan person do to help out?"

Fred was about to answer when someone walked into the hall. That someone was rubbing his stomach and looking around shiftily. For a second nobody spoke. Then George put a hand to his head, "Lee," he yelled, "You were supposed to stay put until it wore off!"

Several professors' shouted, "Fifty points from Gryffindor," just as half the Gryffindor table turned into canaries. Along with the explosion of feathers came a contented smile to each prankster's face. Neville, for one, seemed happy simply because he wasn't one of the canaries. Well, probably also because he hadn't gotten caught. Fred and George seemed happy at pulling such a high-profile prank, even if detention loomed. Usopp _knew_ he was happy, though.

_I think I'll capitalize on this all I can. _He smiled and toasted the trio with his pumpkin juice.

**...**

Authors Note: Oh, there will be more interaction between the characters, don't worry Silverchild of the winds. However, interaction between Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Usopp will have to wait until the end of the next chapter. Sorry...but that's just the way it worked out with what I'd already written.

Feel free to revew or critique if you like. Thank you so much for reading this!


	15. Chapter 15

A Mugiwara Goes to Hogwarts

By: WhiteFang72

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Harry Potter or any of the related characters. Also, this story takes place right after Skypiea in the One Piece universe and during the fourth book in the Harry Potter one.

Time for the second task! Careful, plot twists ahead! Things won't be going quite the same as they do in the book.

**…**

A couple weeks had passed since Usopp's little escapade with pranking and he still wasn't sure if he had improved, or destroyed, things with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. He hadn't done much since the pranks. He'd had detention twice. He'd snuck off every now and then with Fred and George, but not much else. He always had an alibi and always came back without having committed the major crime the trio seemed to suspect he was capable of. Hermione had gradually stopped sending him suspicious looks. Ron had stopped freezing every time he reached into his pocket. But nobody, not even Harry, talked freely around him anymore. Ron had even taken to monopolizing all of Harry's conversations, so that the only thing the black-haired boy ever had the chance to say to Usopp was "nice day." It was hard to judge Harry's own reaction to the whole thing. The kid's face was getting whiter and whiter the closer to the Second Task he came. Usopp wasn't sure if Harry's fierce arguments that he had the "egg-clue figured out," were true or not. Ron and Hermione seemed to accept that the boy knew what the task was about, so Usopp had to assume that they knew too. Which meant that Usopp himself was the only one out of the loop.

And that was why Usopp was currently muttering the phrase "hang it all," and avoiding the lot of them. He'd had enough of stepping lightly in order to avoid looking suspicious. _It's Saturday and I'm taking a day off. _

He was sitting in a shadowy section of one of the many dead-end hallways of Hogwarts, lounging in the silhouette of a sculpture so hideous it scared off nearly everyone who approached it. The statue was of a witch missing half the flesh of her face, one lone, lifelike eye peering out from around half-shrouded bone and muscle. It was eerie as hell, but Usopp was desperate. Not only did he have to stay away from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, for his own piece of mind if nothing else, he also had Karkaroff to watch out for. Attending all the trio's classes, and pretending he'd never missed any, had seemed the best option at the time, but Usopp was starting to realize it was a double-edged sword. Sure, he looked like a somewhat normal, albeit absurdly handsome, student on the outside, but Karkaroff had noticed that his schedule coincided with everything Harry was taking. _To him, it must seem like I'm giving Harry an insider's scoop on the tournament. But, that's not what other people will see and even the Headmaster can't defend me if it gets out that I'm touting weaponry. And it probably _will _get out. _

Usopp was busy thinking miserable thoughts, and stabbing a quill in a satisfyingly vicious way at a piece of pretend homework, when he heard the trio approach, arguing softly. _Oh great, they found me._ But the three students stopped halfway to his hiding place and stood in a deep shadow of their own, letting a disarrayed curtain, hanging halfway off a broken curtain rod, partly shield them from the view of anyone passing by. They scanned the area with their eyes, but not even Hermione seemed to realize Usopp was there. Usopp himself took care to stay completely still. Harry took the reins of the conversation and roughly said, "It's got to be him."

Hermione shook her head at the school champion in an exasperated way. "It can't possibly be, Harry. You know that. Crouch is a judge. What reason would he have to—"

Harry threw out his palms in annoyance. "How should I know?" _Crouch? _Usopp paid careful attention as Harry rubbed at his scar and spoke, "All I know is I saw Barty Crouch's name on the map. He was going through Snape's office! Here was here!"

Ron crossed his arms and nodded, "Blimey Harry, I believe you. What with Crouch being 'sick' all the time, and sending in letters instead of actually being at the tournament he helped plan out in the first place—"

Harry interrupted, "and he wasn't even at the Yule Ball, was he?" His voice became more excited at he went on. "There's something really wrong going on here. We can't just ignore it because he's part of the ministry."

Ron made a face, "Especially because he's part of the ministry, but look Harry. What about Snape? I mean. Why is everybody suddenly searching his office? And if you heard Dumbledore right, what'd he do with his first chance if he's now on his second one? I think it's _got_ to be the git."

Hermione made an exasperated sound and said, "We've been over this," but Harry scowled and nodded. "That's true. He _is_ always trying to get me suspended..." A dark look entered his eyes, "I don't know, maybe they're both in it together?"

Ron scratched at his nose, "Dun' know. Either way, this is bad. How are we going to prove this? I mean...We'd be accusing one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament, or someone Dumbledore trusts, _Merlin knows why_, of conspiracy to commit fraud and murder."

Both Hermione and Harry turned to Ron at the same time. Both sported slightly shocked expressions. "What? What is it?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook it off quickly, and even Usopp had to fight off the brief smile that came when he saw that the trio wasn't being as deadly serious as they'd been the past few weeks in his own presence. The bushy-haired girl spoke up, her voice taking on a sudden muted authority. "Well. If it's got to be Crouch or Professor Snape we're suspecting, and I admit you both have a point," she seemed nervous about the idea, "Then the only way I can think of to investigate this, besides constantly studying the map and hoping Crouch appears again, is to ask Percy for help. We can investigate our professor on our own."

"Percy!"

Ron's shout was half-muffled due to Harry's timely intervention, but the trio seemed to take it as a sign to change their hiding space. They quickly walked off, muttering ways to catch either suspect in the act of doing evil. Usopp sat where he was. He wondered who Percy was. He wondered if it was a good or bad thing that Barty Crouch or a Hogwarts teacher might be the one behind setting Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. If it was someone else entirely...Well, "the devil you know" and all that. Usopp wasn't sure who he'd really been imagining as the culprit. He personally agreed with Ron that the teacher was the more likely suspect. He wondered if the Headmaster ever interrogated his staff.

He wondered, most of all though, why he cared so much.

A day passed before Harry finally told Usopp what he had to do for the Second Task. Usopp suspected he'd only been told because no one could find anything to help him survive it yet.

The rest of the week was spent either in the library or in class, searching for ways to stay alive an hour under a freezing cold lake. No one had any luck. By the night before the task itself, they were all exhausted. Usopp had been reading the same sentence for about twelve minutes before Fred and George Weasley showed up, asking for Ron, Hermione, and himself.

Usopp saw Harry's look of panic and watched with regret as Hermione tried to reassure him that they'd be back. It didn't seem to help. On the way out, Fred, or maybe George, explained that they were needed in Professor McGonagall's office.

The walk there was a bleak one. For some reason, portraits kept shooting them pitying looks as they passed. No one would explain anything and Usopp watched, wary, as Ron became more and more irritated. Once in the Professor's office, McGonagall pulled Hermione and Ron aside and began talking softly to them. Usopp was about to join them when Mad-Eye Moody strode up to him, his clawed, wooden foot clunking with each step. His voice was gruff as he said, "Not you laddie. They have something to do with the task. You're going back to your own room."

Usopp looked at the scarred, predatory smile on Moody's face and decided he didn't like this turn of events at all. "Why didn't you leave me with Harry then?"

"Couldn't very well have Harry watching ya, when he's got the task on his mind. What with you breaking the rules and all," He fixed both creepy eyes on Usopp. "You'll be staying with me for the duration of the Second Task."

_Oh. Crap..._

Moody patted him on the shoulder and led him out. Usopp glanced back at Ron and Hermione, but saw that they were still talking to McGonagall. Hermione's hands were nervously kneading the sleeves of her robes, wrinkling them.

Mad-Eye Moody walked Usopp down several hallways, before stopping at a section a few corridors down from his room. There weren't any paintings around. There weren't even any suits of armor. It was the first time after Moody's crazed attack from his office that Usopp had allowed the man anywhere near him. He'd made sure to sit in the front of the class so he could leave before being held back, and the nut job had given up on trying to make him stay after the first few classes. Almost everywhere he went Usopp had been with Harry, Hermione, or Ron. _I'm so not looking forward to this..._

Moody swiveled his magical eye around, and it disappeared briefly as he looked right through the back of his own head. He cornered Usopp, "Alright Laddie. You've had time to think it over, but I want you think it over good. It's in your own best interests," here he showed Usopp the wand he had hidden in his sleeve, "not to come near my office again without permission. Y'hear? Dumbledore don't like me threatening students, or whatever you qualify as, but _I_ don't have any problem with it. One day you may just find yourself as something worse than a ferret. You got me?"

Usopp hastily nodded. Then he realized he was bobbing it too much and stopped. "Yes sir. O-of course."

Mad-Eye glanced around again. Something odd crossed his face. He took a swig from his hip flask and growled, "And I don't want to see you messing up Mr. Potter's chances for the cup either." He looked Usopp straight in the eye. "No interfering. I'll be watching." The man took a step back and turned on his heel.

"Right..." Usopp shivered and crossed his heart, sending an uneasy smile the teacher's way. "Hope to die."

Moody stopped turning. "Heh." He clunked away. "Good lad."

**...**

Mad-Eye met him right outside his room the next day, the day of the task. Usopp wondered if he'd stayed there all night. It seemed entirely possible for a man as eerie as Moody. The day was cold and gray when Usopp glanced out the window, so he put on his jacket and hoped against hope that Harry had somehow found a way to survive the next challenge. _Wish I could have helped...But then again, what else is new? _The thought was drenched in irritation more than self-pity now.

He expected to meet up with, or at least see Ron and Hermione at the lakeshore, but when he got there and sat in the bleachers with everyone else, the two weren't anywhere. Both Moody and he had been forced to a higher seat, near the edge of the stands, for being some of the last of the crowd to arrive. Those people sitting in the front row had to have come in hours beforehand. He watched as first Fleur Delacour, then Viktor Krum, then Diggory arrived, all seemingly ready for anything. Harry however, didn't show. He turned to Mad-Eye, shook off his fear, and asked. "Where are Ron and Hermione? Shouldn't they be here?"

"Oh, that's right. You don't know." The man fixed his gaze on both the castle and the lake, and muttered, "Where is he?" Then he started and spoke up, "They're part of the task. They're what Mr. Potter has to find. Well," he amended, "one of them anyway."

"What!"

"Stop talking," the man growled.

"But they're under the—" He cut himself off at the halfway murderous look Moody shot him. _They're under the lake? But it's freezing! They could drown! They could be eaten by merpeople! Harry could miss them and they could be lost down there forever, turned to statues by coral and the passage of time, their skeletons floating in the kelp...This tournament shouldn't even be dangerous to the participants, let alone those that didn't sign up at all. 'Course, Harry comes under that category too..._

Usopp stopped his rambling thoughts just as Ludo Bagman shouted, in a voice as loud as someone with a megaphone, "Aaaaand, Mr. Harry Potter is finally here! Just in time, so give him a shout, everyone! Here comes our fourth contestant!"

Usopp yelled out as he recognized Harry's form running down towards the gray lake. He was trying to control a stitch in the side by the look of it and was breathing heavy, but at least he was present. He was also holding something weird in one hand. Usopp himself was too far up in the stands to have the greatest look, so he reached up a palm to put on his goggles, then stopped. He glanced around at the crowd. People were packed tightly together on all sides, waving banners, blowing horns, and drinking fizzy sodas. Some even had Omnioculars. So, it wouldn't be too strange if his goggles, instead of being just a bizarre fashion accessory, actually worked right? He shrugged to himself and put them on. _No harm in trying. _Adjusting them got him a much clearer and closer picture of the student. Below, he could see Harry shivering as he stood in line for the starting whistle. The boy was holding a ball of what looked like wriggling...wait, were they worms? Why would he be holding worms? Were they magic? _Maybe Harry's found something that'll help him survive the task? _He kept watching. The crowd gradually went silent.

When Bagman shot off the starting whistle, both Cedric and Fleur pulled out their wands and performed the same charm, surrounding their heads with iridescent bubbles the size of watermelons. They quickly dived in and the crowd cheered. "Look at that!" Bagman was saying, "Amazing use of the Bubble-Head Charm! A perfect spell for this challenge!"

Krum's spell took longer, but was more impressive. He pointed a wand at his face, said something, and a few moments later he was sporting the head of hammerhead shark. His dive became more of a flop, but he raced off, his jagged teeth cutting through the water and leaving trails of bubbles behind. There was a shocked silence for a few seconds before Ludo cleared his throat. "Well, well, well. Now that folks, I was not expecting! But it works, it works! Look at him go!" The crowd went wild this time, cheering madly.

Harry, meanwhile, had sloshed out chest-deep into the water. Usopp watched worriedly as the boy shook with the cold, but he tried to remind himself that Harry had made it through the last challenge okay. Then Harry did something Usopp didn't expect. He shoved the whole ball of worms right into his mouth. _Eurgh! What the? Oh,_ Usopp shuddered and really hoped he wouldn't be sick on the professor sitting next to him, _that is so wrong... _Harry took his time chewing and swallowing, _ewwww_, and the crowd stayed silent, waiting for something to happen. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. It was silent. Very silent. Too silent. After a few seconds of nothing continuing to happen, a couple of laughs broke out from the Slytherin section of the crowd. Then a bunch more came from one of the other school's sections. Usopp glared at them all. _C'mon Harry. _Finally, after an entire minute, Harry began clawing at his neck. Someone shouted out that he'd grown gills, and even Usopp could see that Harry now had webbed feet. He dived in and the crowd gave a relived cheer, happy that the fun wasn't over so soon.

For about twenty minutes everyone in the crowd watched eagerly for something to happen, Usopp included. For those twenty minutes, he'd also been trying to gauge how much he could interfere, if he needed to, to help Harry. _After all, there are supposed to be _monsters_ in that lake. _He'd even heard that a giant squid, as big as the Sea Kings of his land, lived there. How Harry was supposed to fight off something like that was beyond him. No, he'd gradually come to the nasty conclusion that he wouldn't be able to do much at all. Mad-Eye Moody was sitting right next to him and with all the challengers beneath the cloudy waters of the lake, he was paying more attention to his surroundings then he otherwise might. Usopp could see the man's eerie blue eye roving about in its holder, watching everything his other eye couldn't. If Usopp even put one hand near his slingshot, he'd be caught. And then of course there was Karkaroff. The man had taken special care to note where he was sitting. He was also glancing back at him at different intervals to make sure he hadn't moved and wasn't doing anything overtly suspicious. _No, I can't do a damn thing. _It was frustrating. But as the time went on, through thirty minutes, into forty, he had to admit that he was also bored.

The crowd around him was getting restless too. Every so often, something would pop up, a mermaid tail, a grindylow, or a fish, but then it would go away again, leaving everyone with nothing but a dark lake to look at. _This really isn't the best crowd pleaser. How long did they say this was going to—_

Something cut off Usopp's reflections. Moody's voice came at him, harsh and whispered. "What did you say!"

"Uh," Usopp glanced at the man, surprised by the painful grip on his shoulder and the sudden shade that he couldn't remember being under. "What?"

The man glared at him, his scarred face inches away, looking more insane than Usopp had ever seen him. "How does he get away from justice? Lad, tell me!"

"How does who? What?"

Moody shook him, "How does he escape?"

"I don't know what you're..." Usopp had had enough of this. Regardless of whether the professor could see him, he tightened his fingers on his slingshot's handle. "Look, are you off your meds? 'Cause I think you may be one of those people the Pharmaceutical companies don't _need_ to trick into thinking you need them."

Moody let out a grunt of frustration. He then stalked off, muttering incoherently and completely ignoring Dumbledore's orders to keep an eye on Usopp.

Usopp furrowed his eyebrows.

_Where is that shade coming from? _

And for that matter, he hadn't been standing up a moment ago. He glared at the cool air above him. _Oookay. When, exactly, did I get under the bleachers?_

Usopp was still contemplating the sudden change of scenery when Neville showed up. The boy was watching after Moody with a frightened expression, but he stopped in front of Usopp and asked, "Hey, are you all right?"

"I, I guess." _If suddenly appearing in areas you don't remember going to is normal for you people... then yes._

"It's alright. Moody said you were sick, but I'll tell you, I felt sick too when she got out." Neville shivered a bit.

"Who?" Usopp stared at him in confusion.

"Y'know, Fleur. Err, Ms. Delacour?" He didn't seem to know what to call her. "Those scratches looked ghastly, but she's alright. And guess what! You missed it, but everyone's come out safe. Harry even stayed behind to get everybody out when he noticed nobody was coming for Ms. Delacour's little sister." Neville looked rather proud. He paused and said, "C'mon, lets go congratulate everyone! I'm sure they'd want to see you."

So, Usopp followed after. He smiled at the joy apparent in the trio's faces. He laughed as Ron and Harry got kissed by the Beauxbatons girl. He was glad knowing that Hermione didn't need to be distressed about her friends for a while yet. Nevertheless, he stayed on the sidelines. Worry crept into his gut. It stayed there long after the celebrations ended in Gryffindor tower. Something felt off. Accelerated somehow.

Like things were happening faster than they should.

**...**

Authors Note: I actually like this chapter a whole lot. Neville's a cutie, no? Oh, and what Moody says at the end, those are Moody's words. Not Usopp's. (You can probably guess what happened, but if not, then the answer will be coming in a few chapters).

_P.S. Also, thank you sooooo much to all my reviewers! You guys keep this fic going. :) Your reviews mean a lot, they really do. _

P.P.S. Accidentally tried posting this in Crossovers, thinking it would make the info more accurate. Instead, it erased the Community this was posted to and I'm pretty sure nobody saw it. Remind me never to do that again... :[


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